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| Taro, Gerda, Robert Capa During the Spanish Civil War, 1937. |
Capa left home in 1931 and moved to Vienna, Austria for a short period of time, then to Prague, (now) Czeck Republic and finally settled in Berlin, Germany in 1933. Initially, Capa had studied journalism at the German Political College although with the rise of the Nazi Party, he was prohibited from attending the school due to his Jewish background.
The following year, Capa relocated to Paris and met Gerda Pohorylle, a German refugee. The two fell in love, began living together and both changed their names to avoid Nazi persecution. Capa was still going by Endre Friedmann at this time although Pohorylle and he concocted the name "Robert Capa" for him and "Gerda Taro" for her. Capa also began to present himself as a famous American photographer during this time and worked closely with Taro.
The year 1936 was an exciting time in the city of Paris. Workers began to go on strike in support of a forty hour work week, paid holidays and collective agreements. Capa also photographed the "Popular Front" movement in Paris in 1936. This was a coalition between socialists, communists and other antifascist parties, which governed France for two years.
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| Capa, Robert, (two photos above) Workers at Sit-In Strike, (below) Celebrating the Victory of the Popular Front, 1936. |
Both Taro and Capa traveled to Spain in the same year to document the Spanish Civil War. Shortly after they arrived in Spain, Capa shot his most famous photographs on September 5, 1936 that gained him recognition as a war photographer around the world: The Falling Soldier. This photograph is thought to have been taken of a member of the Party of Marxist Unification, which, in short, was the party who was fighting against Stalin's Communist Regime and wanted to form their own independent Communist party. The man shown in the photograph was apparently just shot and was falling to his death.
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| Capa, Robert, The Falling Solider, 1936. |
Capa's image became an iconic
symbol of the war however, there has been a lot of debate over who is
actually in the picture, if it was staged or not and, if Capa actually
took the shot. Some think that it may have been Taro who took the
photograph as it was published shortly after Taro was killed while photographing a battle in 1937.
However, some of the information surrounding this photograph seems to be
speculation (in my opinion). Robert Capa spoke to Magnum about how he shot The Falling Soldier while in a trench and explains why this photo was significant; to hear this, please click "here".
In 1938, Capa covered the Second Sino-Japanese War in Hankow, China (now called Wuhan). Capa photographed the resistance to the Japanese invasion, which started in 1937. In April of '38, Japan was defeated during the battle of Taierchwang. This created promise for the Chinese people that they may be able to win the war. In the photograph to the left, a Chinese solider is seen guarding the town of Taierchwang, which had been captured from the Japanese the previous night.
During the start of World War II, Capa had moved from Paris to New York City to escape Nazi persecution. Capa began shooting for Collier's Weekly and then switched to freelancing for Life. He was sent to Europe on many assignments and given that he was initially from Hungry, he was seen as the "enemy alien" photographer for the Allies. Capa photographed the German occupation of Sicily and Naples as well as the American troops liberation of Italy.
Capa was at Omaha Beach on D-Day with his camera. Although Capa shot 106 pictures on D-Day, all but eleven photographs were destroyed in the Life magazine photo lab by accident in London. Below are a few of the eleven photographs that were salvaged. These set of photographs are known as The Magnificent Eleven:
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| Capa, Robert, Taierchwang, China, April, 1938. |
During the start of World War II, Capa had moved from Paris to New York City to escape Nazi persecution. Capa began shooting for Collier's Weekly and then switched to freelancing for Life. He was sent to Europe on many assignments and given that he was initially from Hungry, he was seen as the "enemy alien" photographer for the Allies. Capa photographed the German occupation of Sicily and Naples as well as the American troops liberation of Italy.
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| Capa, Robert, American Troops Arriving in Naples, Italy, 1943. |
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| Capa, Robert, (left) Outside Radicosa, Near Cassino, The US and Canadian First Special Service Force in Action Against German Forces, (right) Near Cassino, Italy, Civilians Fleeing Fighting in the Mountain, 1944. |
Capa was at Omaha Beach on D-Day with his camera. Although Capa shot 106 pictures on D-Day, all but eleven photographs were destroyed in the Life magazine photo lab by accident in London. Below are a few of the eleven photographs that were salvaged. These set of photographs are known as The Magnificent Eleven:
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| Capa, Robert, American Troops on Omaha Beach, D-Day, June 6, 1944. |
Stay tuned for "Part II" of this Pho·tog Friday Series on Robert Capa!
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01. "Robert Capa." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
02. Dhaliwal, Ranjit. "Robert Capa: 'The Best Picture I Ever Took' - a Picture from the past." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
03."Robert Capa." Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
04. O'Hagan, Sean. "Robert Capa and Gerda Taro: Love in a Time of War." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 13 May 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.