David Szymin was born in Warsaw in 1911 to a family of printers and publishers. Adopting "Chim" as his nickname, Szymin began working as a freelance photographer. From 1934 his picture stories began to appear regularly in "Paris-Soir" and "Regards", one of the first illustrated magazines. Through the new Alliance agency, Chim met Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa, and was one of the founding members of Magnum.