An artist, a warrior, a man

While the name of Yevhen Khaldei (1917-97) may not be widely known, his pictures are recognized by people from all over the world. His shots include the Flag over the Reichstag photograph, made in May 1945, which became a symbol of victory over fascism, and the famous picture The first day of war, shot in Moscow on June 22, 1941. These two images give a striking impression about Khaldei as one of the most famous war photographers of the Soviet era.

An exhibition under the name “Yevhen Khaldei. An artist, a warrior, a man” is now being held at the Kyiv Museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. The famous press photographer was born in Yuzovka (now Donetsk). The exhibition includes his 200 best pictures, 30 of which are being made public for the first time. These photo documents from family archives and the funds of the Memorial Complex reconstruct historical events from the life of the former USSR, including the World War II period.

This is the first large exhibition of Khaldei in Ukraine – the photographer’s native land, which he was not to live to see. He made his first photograph at the age of 13 using a handmade camera. Since the age of 18 he worked as a press photographer, and since 1939 – as the correspondent of TASS Photochronicles. Khaldei shot Dniprobud, made reports about the pioneers of labor, and when World War II broke out he became a military correspondent for TASS (he didn’t part with his Leica camera for all the 1,418 days of the war [by Soviet timeline – Ed.]). He made his way from Murmansk to Berlin, and took part in battles in the Far East. His photo camera immortalized the setting of the flag over the Reichstag, the signing of the Act of capitulation of Nazi Germany, the conference in Potsdam, the Victory Parade in Moscow, the session of the Paris council of foreign ministers, and other events. By the way, Khaldei’s photographs were used as material evidence at the Nuremberg Trials. After the war, the photographer created a unique gallery of images of frontline soldiers in peacetime. In 1948, during the campaign against “cosmopolitanism,” he was fired from TASS, and accused of being inadequately educated and lacking political literacy! In 1995, at the International Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan (France), Khaldei was given one of the highest decorations in the world of art — the title of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. In 1997 the American publisher “Aperture” released a book The witness of history. Photos of Yevgeny Khaldei. A 60-minute film Yevgeny Khaldei – the photographer of Stalin era also premiered in May, 1997. And in 2004, the publisher “Editions Du Chene — Hachette Livre” (France) released Mark Grosset’s book Khaldei, a photoreporter in the Soviet Union.