Lisel Haas

Lisel Haas worked as a photographer at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre where she photographed many plays. She obtained work with the theatre in 1940, photographing almost every production until she left Birmingham in 1962. During this time many promising actors appeared including Paul Schofield, Albert Finney, Ian Richardson and Derek Jacobi. She also covered productions at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry and the Kidderminster Playhouse. After the Second World War she was able to set up her own photographic studio at her home in Moseley. She worked from here until she left Birmingham.

Lisel Haas was born in Mnchengladbach, Germany in 1898 to Jewish parents. She worked as a portrait photographer and photojournalist. Her special interests were urban childhood, travelling communities and religious practice. OnOctober 1938 she was issued with a decree from the Gladbach Police Authority stipulating that she must display a notice in the window of her photographic studio stating that it was a Jewish business with threat of punishment. Following Kristallnacht in November 1938 she abandoned her studio and left Germany with her father. Their application for asylum in the United States was turned down so they turned to Britain and arrived in Birmingham in December 1938.

Source: Wikipedia