A Shopping Street in Warsaw in 1905

This photograph of a street in Warsaw in May 1905 shows not only the turmoil after the explosion of a bomb, but also demonstrates the multilingualism of daily life in Poland. The signs over the shops are not only in Polish, but also in Cyrillic script, while the names of some of the ship-owners – such as Karol Sommer and J. Schatzschneider – are evidence of their German ancestry.

Warszawa, ulica Miodowa po wybuchu bomby d. 19 Maja 1905 r., black-and-white photograph, 1905, unknown photographer; image source: Biblioteka Narodowa Polona / The National Digital Library Polona, Signatur Poczt.20559.