If you close your eyes and try to picture the Holocaust, or the birth of the State of Israel, you’re probably picturing it in black and white, right? Because all of the images you know from those times are in black and white.

Well, color film existed in those days, it was just really expensive, which meant very few people had it. But a rich American named Fred Monosson was able to afford it and took it along with him on his lengthy adventures in Israel, Europe and the Middle East starting in 1947. He hobnobbed with Golda Meir and David Ben Gurion. He visited the kotel in 1947 and hung out at a cocktail party with friends during the War of Independence. He welcomed Jews from Yemen, visited Auschwitz, and saw British soldiers arrest Jewish immigrants from Europe–all of which he also captured on color film.

Check out the video below (Hebrew with English subtitles) about the newly discovered film reels of Monosson and his recordings of Jewish history.