Robert Lebeck
Encyclopedia
Robert Lebeck is an award winning German
photojournalist.
and sent to the Eastern Front
where he was captured as a POW
by the Soviet Army
. Finally repatriated
after World War II
, he finished high school at the Donaueschingen
Fürstenberg Gymnasium, and went on to study ethnology in Zurich and New York. Self-taught as a photographer, he started in 1952 as a freelancer
selling to various newspapers and magazines in Heidelberg
. Lebeck then went on to be employed by the magazines Illustrierte wie Revue and Kristall, and finally by the German weekly news magazine Stern
. He worked for Stern for thirty years as a photojournalist, with a brief sabbatical during 1977 to 1978, as editor-in-chief of the monthly educational magazine Geo
. Since 2001 Lebeck has resided in Berlin.
Lebeck became well-known in 1960 after his report on the independence of the Congo
"Afrika im Jahre Null" ("Africa in Year Zero") which included a photograph of an African boy, Ambroise Boimbo
, standing beside the steel scabbard of Belgian
King Baudouin. To this day that picture remains his "calling card".
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
photojournalist.
Biography
At the age of fifteen Lebeck was drafted into the WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and sent to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
where he was captured as a POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
by the Soviet Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Finally repatriated
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he finished high school at the Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar Kreis. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Danube ....
Fürstenberg Gymnasium, and went on to study ethnology in Zurich and New York. Self-taught as a photographer, he started in 1952 as a freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
selling to various newspapers and magazines in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
. Lebeck then went on to be employed by the magazines Illustrierte wie Revue and Kristall, and finally by the German weekly news magazine Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
. He worked for Stern for thirty years as a photojournalist, with a brief sabbatical during 1977 to 1978, as editor-in-chief of the monthly educational magazine Geo
GEO (magazine)
GEO is a family of educational monthly magazines similar to the National Geographic magazine. It is known for its profound reports, which are accompanied by opulent pictures.The first edition appeared in Germany in 1976...
. Since 2001 Lebeck has resided in Berlin.
Lebeck became well-known in 1960 after his report on the independence of the Congo
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
"Afrika im Jahre Null" ("Africa in Year Zero") which included a photograph of an African boy, Ambroise Boimbo
Ambroise Boimbo
Ambroise Boimbo was a Congolese patriot who stole the sword of King Baudouin I of Belgium on June 29, 1960 in Léopoldville on the eve of the independence of Belgian Congo. He died in the 1980s and is interred at the Kintambo cemetery...
, standing beside the steel scabbard of Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
King Baudouin. To this day that picture remains his "calling card".
Exhibits
- "Tokio-Moskau-Leopoldville", Hamburg Arts and Crafts MuseumMuseum für Kunst und Gewerbe HamburgThe Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe is a museum of fine, applied and decorative arts in Hamburg, Germany. It is located centrally, near the Hauptbahnhof.-History:...
(Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe), HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
1961 - "Sammlung R.L. - Fotografie des 19. Jahrhunderts", Neue NationalgalerieNeue NationalgalerieNeue Nationalgalerie at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the early 20th century. It is part of the Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin...
, Berlin 1982 - "Augenzeuge Robert Lebeck - 30 Jahre Zeitgeschichte", Stadtmuseum, KielKielKiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
1983 - "Robert Lebeck - Fotoreportagen", PerpignanPerpignan-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
(south of France) 1991 - "Kiosk. Eine Geschichte der Fotoreportage", Museum LudwigMuseum LudwigMuseum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from PopArt, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It also features many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein....
, CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
2001 - "Unverschämtes Glück", Willy Brandt House, Berlin 2004
- "Robert Lebeck - Neugierig auf Welt", Galerie & Edition Bode, NurembergNurembergNuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
2008 - "Robert Lebeck. Fotografien 1955-2005", Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 2008
External links
- Website of Robert Lebeck
- "Robert Lebeck. Fotografien 1955–2005" Exhibit 2008/09
- Photographs of Robert Lebeck
- "Ausstellungen von Robert Lebeck" ("Exhibits of robert Lebeck"), Ausstellungsbüro Fahrenberg