Description
Depicts major events in the twentieth-century Russian history, including the Russian Revolution and World Wars I and II, the
tsarist family and court, communist political and military leaders, and scenes of economic, social, and cultural activities
in the Soviet Union.
Background
Herman Axelbank (1900-1979) devoted his energies for over fifty years to compiling a motion picture film chronicle of the
last years of Imperial Russia, the Russian revolutions, and the new government which emerged from the upheaval. He was born
in the village of Novo-Konstantinov, in the Russian Empire, on May 30, 1900; his family moved to New York in 1909. Fascinated
with film-making from childhood, Axelbank got a job, in 1916, as an office boy for Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn) at Goldwyn
Pictures on Forty-second Street. The news of the February Revolution in Russia captured the young Axelbank's imagination.
"Wish I could take moving pictures over there; we don't have any of our own [American Revolution] in 1775," he remembered
remarking to a co-worker.
Extent
271 motion picture film reels, 1 manuscript box, 2 oversize boxes
(27.0 Linear Feet)
Restrictions
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Availability
Originals closed; access copies available of reels 1-30, 32-36, 40-42, 47, 62, 90, 93, 97, 99, and 118-123. Materials materials
must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection,
they must be reformatted before providing access.