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From 1944 to 1946, the British-American photojournalist Leonard McCombe documented the consequences of the Second World War from Normandy to Warsaw. His photos show the end of the war in Europe, the destruction of the cities, the suffering of the civilian population and the hopelessness of the survivors. The exhibition “1945: Leonard McCombe – Nach dem Krieg / Aftermath of War” now presents these images in Germany, for the first time since the film rolls were developed 80 years ago. They are on show at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) of Heidelberg University in Hauptstraße 120 from 6 May to 11 July 2025.
Press Release
Heidelberg, 6 May 2025
Photographs of the End of the Second World War: Suffering, Destruction and Hopelessness
Heidelberg University shows exhibition “1945: Leonard McCombe – Nach dem Krieg / Aftermath of War”
From 1944 to 1946, the British-American photojournalist Leonard McCombe documented the consequences of the Second World War from Normandy to Warsaw. His photos show the end of the war in Europe, the destruction of the cities, the suffering of the civilian population and the hopelessness of the survivors. The exhibition “1945: Leonard McCombe – Nach dem Krieg / Aftermath of War” now presents these images in Germany, for the first time since the film rolls were developed 80 years ago. They are on show at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) of Heidelberg University in Hauptstraße 120 from 6 May to 11 July 2025.
8 May 1945 saw the end of the Second World War in Europe. Heidelberg University is recognizing this historical watershed 80 years ago with three central projects, seeking to contribute towards a culture of remembrance centering on the defense of freedom, peace and democracy. The Ruperto Carola Lecture Series “1945: Epochal Threshold and Experiential Space” opens up two complementary perspectives: a retrospective interpretation, which situates the end of the Second World War in the fractures and continuities of 20th century history, and a reconstruction of direct human experience and suffering. How the people in Heidelberg experienced the end of the war and its aftermath is the theme of the exhibition “1945: Heidelberg – All and Everything Lost?” which is on view Mondays to Fridays until 11 July in the entrance hall of the New University. The pictures in the second exhibition – McCombe’s photos on show in the HCA – confront the viewer unsparingly with the misery of fleeing and displacement in Europe as a consequence of the war unleashed by Nazi Germany.
Born and raised on the Isle of Man, Leonard McCombe (1923-2015) was a teenager when he began taking photographs and selling his first images to London newspapers. At the age of 18 he became a war correspondent with the British Picture Post; three years later he reported on the advance of the Allies in Normandy. In the same year he was elected the youngest member of the Royal Photographic Society. The images taken by McCombe, who migrated to the United States in the 1940s, appeared, inter alia, in Collier’s and in the legendary American LIFE Magazine. On his farm on Long Island the photographer preserved hundreds of photo albums and thousands of negatives and prints. Leonard McCombe’s son, Clark McCombe, and his wife Beverly Ortiz McCombe took care of the collection and made the pictures available for this exhibition, which is curated by Dr Anja Schüler. It shows shots from 1944 to 1946 that Leonard McCombe took on behalf of the Allies in Normandy, Paris, Berlin and Warsaw. Accompanying the photos are quotations from McCombe’s contemporary photo documentaries, as well as short audio clips by the photographer.
The exhibition “1945: Leonard McCombe – Nach dem Krieg / Aftermath of War” can be viewed Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm in the Heidelberg Center for American Studies, Hauptstraße 120.
Contact:
Heidelberg University
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http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/en/1945-end-of-the-war – 1945 – End of the War
http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/en/1945-end-of-the-war/1945-leonard-mccombe-nach-de... – Exhibition “1945: Leonard McCombe – Nach dem Krieg / Aftermath of War”
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists, all interested persons
History / archaeology
transregional, national
Transfer of Science or Research
English
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