[1] Born in 1919 in Paris to an assimilated Jewish family, he is the son of Raphaël Weill[2] and Jeanne Ullmann.

He had an early interest in art, but decided to pursue photography because his older brother and two of his uncles, Louis Ullmann and Édouard Moyse (1827-1907), were already painters.

[3] He joined the French Resistance in 1942, and used his drawing talents to forge identity papers in order to save children before enlisting in the maquis of the Éclaireurs israélites de France.

These works are published in magazines — L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui, directed by André Bloc, or Cahiers d’Art by Christian Zervos.

He also directed an experimental short film, produced by Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française, Variations I & I.