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The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek has acquired the archive of the photographer Nikolai Molodovsky (1899 – 1986), which includes around 69,000 images. Nikolai Molodovsky documented everyday life in the Bavarian countryside during the time after the war, thereby creating impressive snapshots which frequently tell stories. The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek further expands its important Image Archive – the largest of its kind held by any German public-sector institution – by this unique collection of materials from Bavaria.

Nikolai Molodovsky (1899 – 1986) | © BSB/Image Archive/Nikolai Molodovsky

Car wash in the Chiemsee, 1953 | © BSB/Image Archive/Nikolai Molodovsky

Potato harvest, 1965| © BSB/Image Archive/Nikolai Molodovsky

Born in Russia in 1899, Nikolai Molodovsky emigrated to France in 1920, at the end of the Russian civil war. In 1933, he moved to Prien am Chiemsee and started working as a freelance photographer there. In the course of over 40 years, he created a broadly varied oeuvre, including, among other things, photos documenting Bavarian customs and the working environment from the 1950s to the 1970s. Furthermore, his interest as a photographer was also directed at the villages and churches of Upper and Lower Bavaria and also local artists. Among these, the artist family around the photographer Peter Keetman should be mentioned in particular, with whom Molodovsky was also connected through his marriage to Doris Keetman.

The analogue photo archive of Nikolai Molodovsky includes 48,000 black-and-white negatives, 6,000 coloured slides and 15,000 high-quality proofs. The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek will preserve his entire life’s work sustainably and catalogue and make it accessible step by step.

Dr. Klaus Ceynowa, Director General of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek: "Nikolai Molodovsky knew how to masterfully capture special moments and atmospheres in his photographs. We are therefore particularly pleased that we can secure very rare snapshots of the Bavarian post-war history for research and the public by acquiring this archive."

About the Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
The Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek comprises 19 million images of a predominantly documentary character and with a contemporary historical emphasis. It is the largest image archive held by any public-sector institution in Germany. The main stock is constituted by the photo archive of the journal stern including around 15 million pictures, which was taken over in 2019. Moreover, the Image Archive collects photos by numerous photographers who were active predominantly in Bavaria. The photo archives of Felicitas Timpe, Bernhard Johannes, Max Prugger and Georg Fruhstorfer show lively portraits of Munich and Bavaria in the 20th century.
https://www.bsb-muenchen.de/sammlungen/bilder/fotoarchive/

Press release for download (PDF, 148 KB)

Contact persons

Dr. Cornelia Jahn
Department of Maps and Images
Phone +49 89 28638-2287
cornelia.jahn@bsb-muenchen.de

Peter Schnitzlein
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Press and Public Relations
Ludwigstr. 16, 80539 Munich
Phone +49 89 28638-2429
presse@bsb-muenchen.de

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Impressive snapshots of Bavaria in the time after the war: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek acquires the analogue photo archive of Nikolai Molodovsky