Human beings have been given an intelligence greater than every other species that has ever existed on earth. We have created technologies and abilities that those who came before us might not ever have predicting us doing. Our computers and other technologies will soon be able to perform tasks in a way that will probably challenge our own human ability to be able to keep up with it. However, humans have not made much progress in the ability to tolerate one another, peacefully share our resources, and basically just treat one another with dignity and respect that we are entitled to as humans. Our planet continues to suffer as we try to accumulate wealth, resources, land, and superiority over those who seem weak and vulnerable. Human's murder in the name of pride, religion, and support to one's country. Our conscience too often surrenders to devotion and allegiance to an authority whose goals and methods oppose what is just and correct, and so one could believe that humans have not really progressed at all, and the future of man's ability to set aside his struggles and accomplish the goal of tolerance, respect, and cooperation continues to be a noble but unattainable reality for the foreseen future.  

The photograph titled "The Last Jew in Vinnitsa" captures the essence of the past, present, and future of humanity. The photograph clearly shows that executions have taken place and that another is about to take place again. Those with authority and power are using those advantages for evil over the powerless Jews. The mass grave below the Jew represents all of those who have passed before him, victims of man's inhumanity. The man about to be executed is the present, he represents the continued warfare and genocide that exist today; and the soldiers in the background, whose faces show little or no emotion are representative of a future with little hope for change, as human nature seems well established and try as we might, there will always be evil to deal with producing a never ending cycle of violence and suffering.

The colorless appearance of the photograph assures the observer that this is a dark, bleak day, a dreary moment in time, as the last Jew is executed, as if killing that one man will accomplish the larger strategy of complete and utter domination. Although the photo is still when looking at the picture, the eyes of the observer are drawn to the shooter as the men in the background all are looking at the executioner, drawing attention to the shooter, directing us to his figure, the outstretched arm and pistol pointing at the helpless victim whose gaze suggests the hopelessness of the situation, but also suggests that the future of respect, cooperation and tolerance is also hopeless and as he is sentenced to his fate so we are all destined to live in a world where conflict and aggression prevail over conscience and common sense. The look on the victim's face reflects the indifference on the faces of the executioner as well as the witnesses. The arm and pistol also point the viewer to the pile of dead bodies which are the past. The "last Jew of Vinnitsa" might as well be the last hope of mankind for a future different from the past. There is no need of written text here to accompany the photograph as the message is quite apparent: that the victim is all of mankind, and that the victim's future is our future.

As for the witnesses, there seems to be no expression of empathy, horror, or shock. They all share in their indifference and apathy to what is happening. It seems as if none of them care. There is no evidence of dignity or pride among the murderers; no expression of honor or satisfaction. All those alive in the picture, including the victim, accept what is about to happen without emotion, thought or care, as if nothing whatsoever can be done to alter the impeding act or rectify its impact.

The feature of the mass grave, with its pile of anonymous Jews awaiting yet another soon to join them is representative of all who have suffered an injustice as a result of the inherent tendencies of man to turn violent and problem solve by eliminating perceived threats, real or not. Perhaps if the faces of the departed were staring at the group of witnesses as if pleading for them to do something or at least examine their conscience, all hope for the future of nations and the behavior of humans might not be abandoned. Human attitudes and emotion, which ultimately result in violence toward one another, probably will never change. The past is a testimonial to our ways. The present assassination about to take place confirms it, and the future, as the stares of the victim and witnesses assures that there is little optimism for anything other than a future consisting of additional conflicts. The scope of human achievement has not included the abolition of fear. Fear, not of our natural passing, or of a deity to whom we will ultimately answer, but of ourselves. Perhaps if the soldiers waiting for the fatal shot to be fired looked anxious about or disgusted by the event about to take place, we could find some relief and consider that perhaps not all is lost, but what should be isn't and we are left sharing the hopelessness of those who know that they will be a footnote of history, nothing more.

The photographer probably never realized that the composition of the photograph would be so compelling, induce such emotion, and capture the horror and consequence of a symbolic period. The impending death of an individual is recorded, but it is more than that, the photograph is a bleak reminder that society is relegated to a future that mirrors the past, and that human beings have a very long way to go before we truly can declare that we are fully human. This photographer had no idea that the image he was recording would be so profound and symbolic in so many ways.
