The Morton D. Winsberg Photographs of Colonia Baron Hirsch includes photographs of the Colonia Baron Hirsch, primarily of the Jewish settlers, the homes and other buildings, modes of transportation, and the agriculture and livestock of the colony. The majority of the photographs are not dated, but those with dates are from 1930 to 1946. In addition to these photographic prints, there are a small number of graphic images used by Dr. Winsberg in his book entitled Colonia Baron Hirsch: A Jewish Agricultural Colony in Argentina. The graphics portray population estimates according to date, age, and sex, as well as maps of the colony and the surrounding region. Baron Maurice de Hirsch, a Bavarian Jew by birth, began purchasing Argentina land in 1891 to assist the large numbers of migrating Jews from Europe, particularly Russia. He purchased land to form colonies in Moisesville, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, Chaco, La Pampa, and Rio Negro, under the jurisdiction of the Jewish Colonization Association, an organization he founded to help settle these immigrants. Colonia Baron Hirsch, located between Buenos Aires and La Pampa, was established as an agricultural colony in 1905 and first inhabited primarily by Ukrainian Jews. The population of this colony reached its highest size in 1923 when the settlers numbered over 4,200 individuals from Russia and Eastern Europe. See the finding guide for more information.
Morton D. Winsberg, Professor Emeritus with the Florida State University Department of Geography, donated this collection in 1996 to the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica.