Tag:normandy
Robert Capa was born André Friedmann in 1913 to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary. His images, particularly those he took as a war correspondent, made him one of the greatest photojournalists of the 20th century. In 1938, when aged just 25 yrs old, the British magazine Picture Post termed him “the greatest war photographer in the world”, with a spread of 26 images taken by Capa during the Spanish Civil War.
The Early Years
Capa was accused of connections to communists and, in 1930, fled Hungary for Berlin. There, he enrolled in journalism and political science at Berlin University and worked as a darkroom assistant at Dephot, a German picture agency.
Even as a lowly assistant, his eye for composition became clear to Dephot boss Simon Guttmann and he sent Friedmann to Copenhagen, where the exiled Leon Trotsky was due to speak. Guttmann sent Friedman equipped with a Leica II screw-mount rangefinder to record the event.
Press photographers were banned at the Trotsky rally, but the Leica II was a true pocket camera. Hold one today, and it becomes obvious why it was such a game-changer for the photojournalist in potentially dangerous situations. Friedmann could shoot images covertly and return from Copenhagen with photos that affirmed his talent despite his inexperience. His surreptitious, low-angle shot of Trotsky orating at the podium, his hands locked like talons in front of his face to make a point, became iconic.
Capa and Taro
Following the rise to power of the Nazis, Jews were prohibited from colleges and universities. Realising it wasn’t safe, as a jew, to remain in Germany, Capa moved to Paris in 1933. In Paris, he met a fellow war photographer and Jewish refugee Gerda Pohorylle, who had left Germany for the same reason. The pair dropped their German-Jewish names and assumed the names Robert Capa and Gerda Taro. In Paris, they shared a darkroom with Henri Cartier-Bresson and Chim (David Seymour), with Capa regularly working as a photojournalist.
The Spanish Civil War
Between 1936 and 1939, Capa made multiple trips to Spain accompanied by Taro to document the Spanish Civil War. During this period, he achieved fame as a war correspondent, with his most famous image, Death of a Loyalist Soldier (1936), stemming from these trips. The photos were lauded for their grim realism and gave rise to Capa’s most famous quote.
If your pictures aren’t good enough, then you aren’t close enough.
~Robert Capa~
Doubts of Authenticity
Over three-quarters of a century later, Capa’s Falling Soldier is still regarded as one of the most famous images ever of combat. The image is also one of the most debated, with many critics claiming it was staged, a practice not uncommon at the time. However, whether this particular image was staged is still unknown.
Exiled Republicans being transferred from one part of a concentration camp for Spanish refugees to another. by Robert Capa
During a battle in Madrid, an out-of-control tank crashed into the car carrying Taro, mortally wounding her. She was 26 years old. Capa never got over her death, and he vowed never to marry. Nevertheless, in 1938 Capa went to Hankow (now known as Wuhan) to photograph the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invasion.
World War II
With World War II (WWII) outbreak, Capa again had to move to avoid Nazi persecution. This time, moving to America and as a freelance photographer for LIFE, Time, and other publications. From 1941 to 1946, Capa worked as a war correspondent, travelling with the U.S. Army; he documented the heavy fighting and subsequent Allied victories in North Africa, Europe, and D-Day in Normandy.
Omaha Beach
Capa was the only photojournalist who landed with the allies at Omaha Beach, Normandy, on D-day. While he was only on the beach for ninety minutes, Capa’s images (taken on Contax Cameras) of the Allied landing became some of the most memorable photos of the war. Once back on the transport ship, he helped load stretchers and photographed the wounded until he collapsed. Capa later woke on a bunk with a piece of paper around his neck: “Exhaustion case. No dog tags.”
While under constant fire, Capa took 106 pictures that day. However, only 11 survived after a photo lab accident in London. Those images became known as the Magnificent Eleven.
Leipzig
Following D-day, he went to Leipzig, Germany and photographed the battle for a bridge. One of those images caught Raymond. J. Bowman just moments before being killed by sniper fire. The pair of infantrymen had set up their 30 calibre Browning machine gun on an open balcony to provide cover for the American troops of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division, advancing over a bridge. This balcony had an unobstructed view of the bridge. However, it also gave a clear view of snipers. The image was later published in Life magazine.
(Credits: Robert Capa, International Center of Photography / Magnum Photos)
In 2015, the City of Leipzig voted to name the street in which the apartment building is located “Bowmanstraße” in honour of Raymond J. Bowman. As a result, the apartment building is now called Capa House and contains a small memorial with Capa’s photographs and information about Bowman.
Liberation of Italy
In August 1943, he accompanied American troops to Sicily. While there, he documented the suffering of the Sicilians under the constant bombing by Germany. His photographs also depicted their happiness at the arrival of the American soldiers. Capa’s image of a Sicilian peasant indicating the direction in which German troops had gone became famous worldwide and a symbol of the liberation of Italy from the Nazis.
© Robert Capa © International Center of Photography | Magnum Photos
WWII Aftermath
In 1947 Capa travelled to the Soviet Union with his writer friend John Steinbeck, and they collaborated on the book “A Russian Journal”. Capa took photos of war-torn Moscow, Kiev, Tbilisi, Batumi and the ruins of Stalingrad, with Steinbeck providing the text. President Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded him the Congressional Medal of Freedom for his WWII and day images. Additionally, Hungary released a gold coin and a stamp of Capa in his honour. From 1948-1950, he photographed the turmoil following Israel’s declaration of independence.
courtesy Wikipedia Commons
Untimely End
In 1954 he went to Hanoi to photograph the French war in Indochina for LIFE. Sadly, Capa was killed shortly after his arrival. While accompanying a french unit, he got out of the jeep to get better photographs and stepped on a landmine. One camera was flung away by the force of the blast. Mortally wounded, with the other camera still in his hand, he was declared dead at the hospital. He became the first American war correspondent killed in the Vietnam conflict. Capa was just 40 yrs old. He had photographed five wars and the official founding of Israel.
Robert Capa is considered the 20th-century’s best photojournalist/war photographer. The French army posthumously awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Palm. In 1955 the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award was established to reward the “best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise”. The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum inducted Capa in 1976.
The island abbey of Mont St Michel had been on my bucket list since I first saw an image of it years ago. So it was definitely on the list when we planned our trip. Mont St Michael is four hours from Paris, so it was a fourteen-hour day on the bus tour between travelling and time on the island.
The island is just a few hundred metres from the mainland and only accessible at low tide. This makes it accessible to pilgrims at low tide but defensible at high tide. Some people still cross to the island across the mudflats in the traditional way of pilgrims hundreds of years ago. Apparently, you need a guide to take you over to avoid the quicksand. (we took the shuttle!)
World Heritage site
Before constructing the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called Mont Tombe. According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared in 708 to the bishop of Avranches and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. A small church was consecrated just over a year later on 16th October 709. In 966, a community of Benedictines settled on the rock at the request of the Duke of Normandy and the pre-Romanesque church was built before the year one thousand.
With the Hundred Years War outbreak in the 14th century, protecting the abbey behind a set of military constructions became necessary. This enabled it to hold out against a siege lasting 30 years. Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Over 60 buildings on the island are protected in France as monuments historiques.
Car free island
In 2014 a new causeway was opened that gave access to the island to shuttle buses and pedestrians. The old road covered at every high tide was then removed. However, the area is known for spring ‘super’ tides, and in 2015 the tide was so high it covered even the raised causeway. We arrived around midday and enjoyed a delicious lunch with a pear cider before taking the shuttle bus to the island. No cars are allowed on the island. Even residents must take the shuttle bus from the mainland carpark across the causeway or walk. We all had headphones supplied by the tour company, and the guide supplied loads of info about Mont St Michel. While setting a cracking pace up the 350 steps to the top!
Construction
At the base of Mont St. Michael are shops and houses – the island has a permanent population of 50. Just below the top sits The Merveille (the marvel). Added in the 13th century, its three layered levels culminated in a height of 35m supported by 16 powerful buttresses. The Merveille took 17 years, and each level had different functions. The building of which was an amazing feat of engineering for the time.
On the ground floor is the cellar for storing food and the chaplaincy for welcoming pilgrims. The second floor contains the dining hall with its imposing fireplaces, reserved for special guests. On this floor is also the so-called “knights” room, the former scriptorium. The “knights” room was also called the scriptorium. For a long time, the scriptorium was thought to have been the place where manuscripts were produced and illuminated. However, it would seem that it was, in fact, used for reading and studying. The final level contained the cloisters and the monks’ refectory.
At the very top stands the church – topped with a 32m steeple and a statue of St Michael.
What a Day!
Once at the top, the guide left us to our own devices for a couple of hours. We had to be back on the bus by 4.30 pm. We meandered our way back down (much slower than the going up), taking photos along the way. Boarding the shuttle bus back was problematic as the first one was packed. I couldn’t squeeze on, we were running out of time to get back, so when the second shuttle bus came, we were a bit more aggressive and managed to squeeze on. Fortunately, we returned to our tour bus with about 5 mins to spare. Though being stuck on St Michel overnight wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
The tour bus left Mont St Michel at 4.30 pm. After a 30min stop halfway back to Paris for toilets, food, and drink, we arrived back in Paris around 9 pm. Found a cab. Cabbie spoke only french, we spoke only English. Rue de Rennes merci… confusion… Rue de Rennes. I showed him the address on my phone…. ahhhhh!! Oui, Rue de Rennes… I thought I said that! 10 euros later we were back at our hotel, and I think about ten mins after that I was in bed asleep!