Yad Vashem's original photo collection was composed of photos taken out of files during the organization of the archives.

This collection was known as the "Microfiche Collection" because it was photographed and was made available for public viewing on microfiche machines. It was searchable using a printed general catalogue and a card catalog. The collection was roughly organized on thematic lines and not according to provenance. Therefore, no record was kept of the files from which the photos were taken. It seems that most of the photos came from the files of the Jewish Historical Committees. Stamps or scripts on the other side enable in some cases to identify the origin of individual photos or series.