More than half a century has passed since the Nazis unleashed their "Anti-Semitism" experiment on the Jews that brought the world on the brink of a War of unprecedented scale.
To imagine the human trauma of the torture coupled with poverty and displacement from natal places , is practically unimaginable for this generation. No doubt we have seen our share of minor proxy wars and diplomatic failures unfold too but nothing like that.
Now imagine a photographer, at the peak of the ensuing tensions and wars captures the man behind the holocaust, theough his lens! The wonderful catch being he was a Jew himself.
Today we bring for you the iconic photograph by the veteran photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt who captured Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister and devout sidekick.
The year was September 1933 and Eisenstaedt was a photojournalist with the Life Magazine. He traveled to Geneva to cover the League of Nations meeting where he met Goebbels.
Unaware of his Jewish antecedants, Goebbels was open to conversation until the fact was eventually unfolded. However, Alfred had captured many pictures of the minister in different moods by this time.
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To imagine the human trauma of the torture coupled with poverty and displacement from natal places , is practically unimaginable for this generation. No doubt we have seen our share of minor proxy wars and diplomatic failures unfold too but nothing like that.
Now imagine a photographer, at the peak of the ensuing tensions and wars captures the man behind the holocaust, theough his lens! The wonderful catch being he was a Jew himself.
Today we bring for you the iconic photograph by the veteran photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt who captured Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister and devout sidekick.
The year was September 1933 and Eisenstaedt was a photojournalist with the Life Magazine. He traveled to Geneva to cover the League of Nations meeting where he met Goebbels.
Unaware of his Jewish antecedants, Goebbels was open to conversation until the fact was eventually unfolded. However, Alfred had captured many pictures of the minister in different moods by this time.
Eisenstaedt recounts himself after the meeting about Goebbels appearance. He was himself "dark-haired, club-footed and physically dimunitive...not the symbol of healthy tall, blond, Nordic master-race he defended".
The moment Goebbels knew of he was a Jew, Goebbels expression was instantly cold. Rightly titled as the "Eyes of Hate", the photograph won international acclaim.
The moment Goebbels knew of he was a Jew, Goebbels expression was instantly cold. Rightly titled as the "Eyes of Hate", the photograph won international acclaim.
Eisenstaedt statess his experience, "I found him sitting alone at a folding table on the lawn of the hotel. I photographed him from a distance without him being aware of it. As documentary reportage, the picture may have some value: it suggests his aloofness. Later I found him at the same table surrounded by aides and bodyguards. Goebbels seemed so small, while his bodyguards were huge. I walked up close and photographed Goebbels. It was horrible. He looked up at me with an expression full of hate. The result, however, was a much stronger photograph. There is no substitute for close personal contact and involvement with a subject, no matter how unpleasant it may be...He looked at me with hateful eyes and waited for me to wither. But I didn’t wither. If I have a camera in my hand, I don’t know fear".
The Life magazine rightly tagged it as "The fierce arrogance of power, normally covered with false grace of good humor, shone through miraculously into Eisenstaedt’s film".
But Alfred Eisenstaedt is famous for his more iconic photograph- "V-J Day in Times Square". The photo is one of a sailor immediately after Japan's surrender on August 14, 1945, as he kissed a nurse in New York's famous arena.
The Life magazine rightly tagged it as "The fierce arrogance of power, normally covered with false grace of good humor, shone through miraculously into Eisenstaedt’s film".
But Alfred Eisenstaedt is famous for his more iconic photograph- "V-J Day in Times Square". The photo is one of a sailor immediately after Japan's surrender on August 14, 1945, as he kissed a nurse in New York's famous arena.
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