Robert Lebeck (21 March 1929 – 14 June 2014) was an award-winning

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

photojournalist.

Biography

At the age of fifteen Lebeck was drafted into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

and sent to the Eastern Front where he was captured as a POW by the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. Finally

repatriated Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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 Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. 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 ''

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''. 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 man, Ambroise Boimbo pinching the ceremonial sword of

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King Baudouin Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...

. To this day that picture remains his "calling card".

Awards

*2007 Henri Nannen Lifetime Achievement Award"Spiegel-Reporter gewinnen Nannen-Preise" ("Spiegel Reporter wins Nannan Prize")
'' Der Spiegel'' 11 May 2007

Exhibits

*"Tokio-Moskau-Leopoldville", Hamburg Arts and Crafts Museum (''Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe''),

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

1961 *"Sammlung R.L. - Fotografie des 19. Jahrhunderts",

Neue Nationalgalerie The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) 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 National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its s ...

, Berlin 1982 *"Augenzeuge Robert Lebeck - 30 Jahre Zeitgeschichte", Stadtmuseum,

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

1983 *"Robert Lebeck - Fotoreportagen", Perpignan (south of France) 1991 *"Kiosk. Eine Geschichte der Fotoreportage",

Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

2001 *"Unverschämtes Glück", Willy Brandt House, Berlin 2004 *"Robert Lebeck - Neugierig auf Welt", Galerie & Edition Bode,

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

2008 *"Robert Lebeck. Fotografien 1955-2005",

Martin-Gropius-Bau Martin-Gropius-Bau, commonly known as Gropius Bau, is an important exhibition building in Berlin, Germany. Originally a museum of applied arts, the building has been a listed historical monument since 1966. It is located at 7 Niederkirchnerstra� ...

, Berlin 2008

Notes

References

*Kayser, Gisela (2009) ''Robert Lebeck, Fotoreporter'' (''Robert Lebeck, Photojournalist'') Steidl, Göttingen, , a catalog for the 28 November 2008 to 23 March 2009 Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibit, in German *Schmidt, E. (2009) "Bilder und Reisen - Gesprach mit dem Fotoreporter Robert Lebeck" ("Pictures and Travel - Interview with the Photojournalist Robert Lebeck") '' Die Zeit'' 64(9): pp. 66–68, in German *Staff (2009) "Die Tricks des Haudegen - ''Photographie'' im Gesprach mit Reporter-Legende Robert Lebeck" ("The tricks of the warhorse - ''Photographie'' interviews the legendary reporter Robert Lebeck") ''Photographie'' 33(3): pp. 108–111, in German *Staff (2008) "Robert Lebeck - Fotografie: Retrospektive eines grossen Fotoreporters" ("Robert Lebeck - Photography: Retrospective of one of the great photojournalists") ''Du'' no. 791: pp. 68–81, in German *Staff (2006) "Portfolio - Robert Lebeck" ''Color Foto'' 36(3): pp. 78–88, in German *Jocks, H. N. (2006) "Robert Lebeck: Neugierig auf Welt" ("Robert Lebeck: Curious about the World") ''Kunstforum International'' no. 181: pp. 154–77, in German *Zeeb, R. (April 1984) "Die ersten dreissig Jahre der Fotografie" ("The first thirty years of photography") tadtmuseum Kiel; Sammlung Robert Lebeck Das Kunstwerk v. 37 (April 1984) p. 82-3

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebeck, Robert German photojournalists German military personnel of World War II Photographers from Berlin 1929 births 2014 deaths Stern (magazine) people German magazine editors