The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
[Doing Battle]
1
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Soviet Cavalry, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
In August 1939, Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler shocked and horrified the Western
world by signing the non-aggression Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a clear sign that Hitler
was free to pursue his own interests without interference from his potentially strongest
enemy. A secret protocol in this pact contained an agreement to split the buffer states of
Northern and Eastern Europe between the two nations. Germany invaded western Poland
less than one week later, beginning World War II in Europe.
This German invasion was followed by a Soviet invasion of eastern Poland. In
November, the Soviet Union also attacked Finland beginning what became known as the
Winter War. By the end of June 1940, Germany had occupied Norway, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Belgium and France. Also by this time the Soviet Union had occupied and
annexed the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as part of eastern
Finland known as Finnish Karelia.
Then, after a year of uneasy peace, Hitler broke the pact in June 1941 by launching
Operation Barbarossa, a massive invasion of the Soviet Union with soldiers from
Germany, Italy, Romania and other Axis nations. Hitler had long coveted the Soviet
Union's grain, coal and oil. He also considered the Slavic people to be 'subhuman,' and he
envisioned eliminating or enslaving the nation's vast population. For Hitler the Eastern
Front was a mission of annihilation against Soviet soldiers and civilians alike.
Although one generally thinks of mechanized units in association with World War II,
mounted horse units were used extensively by almost all of the combatant nations.
2
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
Looking out from the Bunker, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
3
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Moving across the Lake, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
4
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Attack in the Snow, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
Hitler's plan for Operation Barbarossa was to launch three simultaneous Blitzkrieg
attacks: Army Group North marched towards Leningrad on the Baltic; Army Group
Center headed toward Moscow; and Army Group South was to take Kiev and ultimately
Stalingrad. Flush with confidence from the Western Front, Hitler planned to overtake
Russia by the end of the summer. The operation was initially successful due to the
element of surprise, superior military training and equipment. Despite the heavy
casualties, however, the Soviet resistance was strong and the advance went more slowly
than planned. A severe Russian winter then set in, freezing poorly outfitted Axis troops.
By November 27, 1941 Hitler's Army Group Center literally had Moscow in their sights.
The Soviet Union was finally ready to strike back. Fresh Soviet forces from Siberia and
the Far East, well seasoned and fully equipped for winter battle, were transferred to the
Eastern Front. On December 5 the Soviets launched a massive counter-attack, bringing
the unrealized Operation Barbarossa to an end. The Great Patriotic War, as the Soviets
called World War II, would rage on for well over three more years.
5
Anatoli Yegorov (dates unknown)
Machine Gunners, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
These Soviet soldiers are riding in an American-made Jeep. The United States provided
more than 250,000 trucks, 14,000 airplanes, 7,000 tanks, and 77,000 Jeeps under the
Lend-Lease Act to help the Soviets during the war. It is estimated that Lend-Lease
deliveries contributed at least 10% of the total Soviet war effort.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
6
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Soviet Tank, c. 1942
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
The success of the Soviet counter-offensive beginning on December 5, 1941 can be
represented by the tanks pictured here and below: the Soviet T-34. The T-34 employed a
balance of mobility, superior armament and a sloped armor design that combined lighter
weight with improved defense. Hitler's forces were unprepared to combat this decisively
superior tank, and it took the Germans over a year to develop the 'Panther' tank in
response. In 1944 the Soviets regained the upper hand with the T-34/85, which featured a
larger caliber cannon and an enlarged turret. This improved model can be seen in the
photograph of a tank in front of Brandenburg Gate, located in the Victory section of this
exhibition.
7
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
Tanks Full Ahead, c. 1942
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
8
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Artillery, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
[Portable Wall - Doing Battle]
9
Yakov Riumkin (dates unknown)
Military Formation on the Leningrad Front, 1944
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
In addition to the millions of Soviet women who worked in factories, hospitals, etc., more
than one million women fought in front line combat units during the Great Patriotic War.
While they performed many in combat roles (as machine gunners and tank commanders,
for example), Soviet women were notably effective as combat pilots and as snipers. The
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
two women here are both privates. The woman in the center has a 'serious wound' strip on
her shoulder, and it is probable that one of her three medals is for 'distinguished service in
battle.'
10
Aleksandr Stanovev (dates unknown)
Crossing the Ugra, 1942
Gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
11
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Shaving in the Trenches, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
[Faces of War]
12
Moisei Nappelbaum (1869-1958)
Portrait of Joseph Stalin, c. 1925
Gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
Born Iosif Dzhugashvili in 1879, he changed his name in 1910 to Josef Stalin, or 'Man of
Steel.' Following Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin emerged victorious after a power struggle
with Leon Trotsky. He was largely responsible for transforming the Soviet Union from an
agricultural state to a major industrial power, which would prove essential to eventually
repelling the Axis invasion in World War II. Stalin was known to refer to himself as
'Papa Joe,' the natural compliment to 'Mother Russia.' This early portrait is representative
of the way he demanded to be portrayed: stern and strong, tough yet fair.
In reality, however, Stalin ruled as the tyrant dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929 until
his death in 1953, and he was responsible for the deaths of millions of his own people
through a series of purges, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Millions more were deported
to Gulag labor camps. After his death he was denounced by Nikita Khrushchev for his
repression and the 'cult of personality' he created.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
13
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Soviet Commanders, 1941
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
14
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Volunteers, 1941
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
Soviet losses during the first two months of the war were staggering, numbering well
over a million. With mounting desperation, calls were made for volunteers to defend
Mother Russia. Thousands, then later hundreds of thousands of volunteers, like those
pictured here, answered the call.
These volunteers were brave and highly motivated, but they were untrained, unskilled,
and woefully equipped. They were thrown into battle against some of the best trained and
best equipped veterans in the world. Brave as they were, they were slaughtered in droves.
It is likely that the volunteers shown here were killed in their first battle.
15
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
First Lieutenants S. Desyatnikov and I. Pikulin, Scouts, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
16
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
In a Hotbed of Destruction, 1941-45
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
17
Yakov Riumkin (dates unknown)
Young Partisans from Frunze's Detachment, March 1943
Period gelatin silver print
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
Frunze's Detachment, named in honor of the Russian general Mikhail Frunze (18851925), was an all-Jewish partisan formation based in the Soviet Republic of Balarus.
Reprisals by the Nazi occupation forces against those even suspected of partisan activity
or support were especially harsh and merciless. The usual punishment was immediate
execution without trial, typically by hanging in a public place after being tortured and
mutilated.
18
Yakov Riumkin (dates unknown)
Russian Soldier, A.G. Frolchenko, Honored during the Battles near Kurskaya Duga,
1943
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
[Battle of Stalingrad]
19
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Captured Building, Stalingrad, 1942
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
In the summer of 1942 the German command launched a massive strike by Army Group
South towards the oil-rich Caucuses region toward the southeast. Part of this plan was to
seize control of the Volga River, the core of the largest river system in Russia. Sitting on
the Volga was Stalingrad, a large center of Soviet industry. Not only did Stalingrad
therefore serve as a key strategic target for the German advance, its name gave it huge
symbolic value to both Hitler and Stalin.
Delays in the advance of the German Sixth Army towards Stalingrad allowed the Soviets
to prepare for its defense by reorganizing a large number of separate units into the Soviet
Sixty-second Army under the command of Vasily Chuikov. In August 1942 the Germans
bombarded the city, causing a massive firestorm and reducing much of the city to rubble
and ruin. The Soviets dug into the urban landscape, setting bases in houses and factories.
They fought street to street, house to house, room to room, and hand to hand. The life
expectancy of a Soviet soldier could be measured in mere days. In an attempt to recapture the dominant hill in the city, Mamayev Kurgan, a Soviet division of 10,000 men
was obliterated in a single day in September.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
Thus began the infamous Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest battles in all of World
War II. In the end over two million soldiers were dead, wounded or missing.
20
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Assault, Stalingrad, 1942
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
In an interview after Stalingrad, Soviet veteran Suren Mirzoyan remembered the blood
lust that consumed him during the desperate fighting: "I was like a beast. I wanted only
one thing - to kill. You know how it looks when you squeeze a tomato and juice comes
out? Well, it looked like that when I stabbed them. Blood everywhere. Every step in
Stalingrad meant death. Death was in our pockets. Death was walking with us."
21
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Barricades in the Factory Guilds, Stalingrad, 1942-43
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
In November 1942 the Germans had advanced east to the Volga River, having taken three
months to capture ninety percent of the city. Yet the battle raged on, particularly in the
factory section to the north. Soviet snipers were extremely effective in this street fighting,
and their successes became the stuff of legend.
During the months that the Germans had been slowly advancing through Stalingrad, the
Soviets had built up massive forces to the north and south of the city. On November 19
and 20 theses armies rushed toward each other to the west in a successful attempt to
encircle the German troops. Cut off from necessary supplies and reinforcements,
250,000 Axis forces were left to fight it out.
22
Emanuil Evzerikhin (1911-1984)
Stalingrad, 1942
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
23
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Misery of War, Stalingrad, 1942
Vintage gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
24
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Road of Death, Stalingrad, 1942
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
25
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Captured German Generals in Chuikov's Bunker, Stalingrad, January 1943
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
26
Anatoli Yegorov (dates unknown)
Interrogation of the Prisoner Field Marshal Paulus in the Headquarters of the
Sixty-second Army, Stalingrad, January 31, 1943
Period gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
As commander of the German Sixth Army, General Friedrich Paulus was charged by
Hitler with capturing Stalingrad at all costs. After being surrounded by Soviet troops in
November, thousands of Axis troops started dying of frostbite, starvation and disease.
Hitler ordered Paulus to never surrender, and he promoted Paulus to the rank of Field
Marshal in January, 1943. No German Field Marshal had ever been captured alive,
therefore the implication was clear: fight to the death or commit suicide. Paulus chose
instead to surrender the 90,000 remaining soldiers under his command, including twentytwo generals. He can be seen in this photograph seated at the table, staring silently at his
interrogators.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
27
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Prisoners, Stalingrad, 1943
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
The German Sixth Army at Stalingrad was composed of 250,000 of the very best soldiers
the Germans had. Before Stalingrad, German propaganda photographs had made much of
the massive numbers of Soviet troops captured. Now, however, for the very first time,
large numbers of Germans had been captured.
The political impact of photographs such as this one cannot be overemphasized. Of the
250,000 soldiers in the Sixth Army, roughly 40,000 were successfully evacuated by the
Germans, 120,000 were killed or missing, and 90,000 were captured. Of these 90,000
prisoners of war, only 5,000 ever saw Germany again.
[Free-standing label]
Stalingrad was the turning point of the Eastern Front; it also was a major element in
turning the tide in World War II. During the Battle of Stalingrad, other Soviet forces
mounted a large westward offensive to push the Germans back.
In the summer of 1943 there was one last great showdown on Russian soil: the Battle of
Kursk, which was the largest tank battle in history up to that point. Although they
suffered more casualties, the Soviets were able to simply outlast Hitler's forces. The
Germans were never able to gain the initiative in the Eastern Front again.
After Kursk, the Germans went from loss to loss over the next two years. Although there
were some fierce battles, the Soviet's push westward was relentless. The Soviet offensive
gained increasing momentum upon the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, which
forced Hitler to divert units away from the Eastern Front. In a series of operations from
August 1943 to March 1945, the Soviets pushed the Germans out of the Soviet Union,
across Central Europe, and into Germany itself. In April they launched one final
campaign to capture Berlin.
[Portable Wall - Misery of War]
28
Dmitri Baltermants (1912-1990)
Grief, Kerch, January, 1942
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
Kerch is located on the eastern end of the Crimean peninsula on the northern coast of the
Black Sea. It was the site of heavy fighting during the war, trading hands several times.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
While occupied by Axis forces, the Nazis killed or deported 30,000 of its citizens. This
famous photograph by Dmitri Baltermants depicts the agonizing search for loved ones
left behind after a German retreat. For dramatic effect, Baltermants later added this
turbulent sky to his original negative. It remained unpublished until 1965, but it has since
become one of the most unforgettable images of World War II.
29
Boris Kudoyarov (1898-1974)
The Siege of Leningrad, 1942-43
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
In September 1941, Hitler decided to surround and starve the city of Leningrad rather
than fight a costly battle to capture it. More than three million people were surrounded,
with but little relief, for over two years. With difficulty an adult can survive for two
years on 1,500 calories of food per day. Rations in Leningrad during its siege were
typically 500-800 calories per day. In 1942 alone, 650,000 people died from bombing,
exposure, and starvation. In desperation, the living sometimes resorted to cannibalism.
Finally, in January 1944, the Soviet Army broke the siege and brought relief to those still
clinging to life.
30
Mikhail Trakhman (1918-1976)
Wounded Soldiers, 1942-43
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
[Atrocities]
31
Yakov Riumkin (dates unknown)
Hostages Burned Alive, Poltava, Ukraine, 1943
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
The city of Poltava, in eastern Ukraine, was occupied in September 1941 with the initial
German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was not liberated by the Soviets until two years
later. This photograph depicts what Hitler's forces left in the wake of their retreat.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
32
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
Children in Petrozavodsk Prison Camp, c. 1945
Vintage gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
This photograph was taken upon the liberation of a Finnish concentration camp in
Petrozavodsk, on the shores of Lake Onega in East (Russian) Karelia. Supported by Nazi
Germany, the Finnish army waged their 'Continuation War' against the Soviet Union
from 1941 to 1944.
Beginning in 1942, Finland established several camps in this region for an estimated
25,000 Russian civilians. According to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat,
approximately 4,500 civilians died in these camps, primarily from starvation. These
Finnish camps might well have been a retaliatory measure-when this region had been
under Soviet control prior to the war, Stalin had executed or deported several thousands
of the Finnish population.
The sign, in Finnish and Russian, threatened outsiders attempting to enter the camp or
talk to the prisoners with getting shot.
33
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Prisoner's Bodies, c. 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
34
Mark Markov-Grinberg (born 1907)
Mountain of Prisoners' Clothing, Stutthof Camp, Danzig, Poland, c. 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
Stutthof is today one of the lesser-known Nazi concentration camps. It was built in
September 1939 by the Nazis near Danzig (now Gdansk), Poland, immediately after the
German invasion that began World War II. For most of its operation, Stutthof was
primarily a forced labor camp for Poles from the surrounding areas.
After the Normandy Invasion, however, many Nazis felt a sense of urgency in
implementing the 'Final Solution' (the extermination of the Jews). Beginning in June
1944 between 30,000 and 50,000 Hungarian, Polish, and Latvian Jews were sent to
Stutthof for extermination. Out of a total population of 110,000 prisoners from twentyfive countries, approximately 65,000 were killed at Stutthof. The camp was liberated the
same day as peace was declared, May 9, 1945.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
35
Mark Markov-Grinberg (born 1907)
Crematorium, Stutthof Camp, Danzig, Poland, c. 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
The Nazis were horrifyingly thorough in their exploitation and mass murder of Jews,
prisoners of war, political prisoners, Gypsies, Jehovas Witnesses, criminals, and
homosexuals. Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on prisoners in some camps.
Prisoners in labor camps were literally worked to death. After systematically gassing or
shooting prisoners at their extermination camps, the Nazis looted the prisoners' clothing
and shoes, as is chillingly documented in the photograph above. The Nazis also
plundered the prisoners' glasses, gold teeth and even hair to recycle for the war machine.
After the Nazis had harvested literally everything they could from their victims, the Nazis
cremated the bodies and used the ashes in fertilizer.
36
Mark Markov-Grinberg (born 1907)
Zyklon B Canisters, Stutthof Camp, Danzig, Poland, c. 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
Zyklon B was a granular chemical compound that released hydrogen cyanide gas upon
contact with the air. It was 100% fatal. Each fifteen pound canister could kill up to 1,500
people (the population of a typical high school). There are at least twenty canisters of
Zyklon B shown here, with many more likely still packed in the crates.
Rudolf Höss, Commandant of the concentration camp in Auchwitz-Birkenau, testified at
Nuremberg: "The gas was dischargedŠthrough vents in the ceiling of the gas chambers,
down a shaft that led to the floorŠIt could be observed through a peephole in the door that
those who were standing nearest to the induction vents were killed at once. The
remainder staggered about and began to scream and struggle for air. The screaming,
however, soon changed to the death rattle and in a few minutes all lay still."
37
Emanuil Evzerikhin (1911-1984)
Poland, 1944
Vintage gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
[Victory]
38
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
At the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, May 1, 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
On April 16, 1945 the Soviets launched their offensive to capture Berlin. After a week of
sustaining heavy losses during battle, they had encircled the city and captured the
German supply dumps. The Soviets then converged upon the heart of the city,
encountering extremely fierce resistance. As in Stalingrad, the advance was made
building by building, much of it by hand-to-hand combat. It soon became clear to Hitler
that the war was lost. On April 30 he married Eva Braun and then committed suicide by
taking cyanide and shooting himself. On May 2 General Weidling, Defense Commandant
of Berlin, surrendered to the Soviets.
This famous photograph became a frequent post-war symbol of Soviet propaganda. The
powerful image of a Soviet tank at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin not only served as an
illustration of the Allied victory, but also as a defiant warning to any future would-be
enemies of the Soviet Union.
39
Yevgeny Khaldei (1917-1997)
Raising the Soviet Flag over the Reichstag, April 30, 1945
Gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
This photograph is as famous to Russians as Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the U.S.
Marines raising the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima. Planting the Soviet
flag atop the Reichstag (the seat of German Parliament) in Berlin was the ultimate
symbol of victory. However, the cost of that final victory was high. It has been estimated
that Soviet losses in the Battle of Berlin were as many as one million men.
40
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
American and Russian Soldiers, 1945
Vintage gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
As the Battle of Berlin was entering its climactic stage, the Soviet and American armies
advanced toward each other south of the city. On April 25 the Soviet Fifty-eighth Guards
Division of the Fifth Guards Army made contact with the U.S. Sixty-ninth Infantry
Division of the First Army near Torgau, on the Elbe River. While it was not the end of
the war, this meeting was a tremendous symbolic victory.
Journalist Catherine Coyne of the Boston Herald was on the scene: "It was a day for the
little man of the armies -- for the GI and the junior officer -- and each made it a merry
one, forgetting war while toasting the United States and Russia, swapping insignia and
watches, snapping pictures and trying out one another's weapons amid noise, danger and
laughter reminiscent of the Fourth of July at home. They shook hands, posed for
thousands of pictures in the center of a screaming, shoving mob of official professional
and amateur cameramen, then feasted in a German barracks on captured German eggs,
black bread with cheese and tumblers of champagne."
41
Georgi Khomzor (dates unknown)
Comrades, 1945
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
42
Mark Redkin (1908-1987)
Photographers and Cinematographers in front of the Reichstag, May 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Gift of William Broyles, Jr.
43
Alexandr Ustinov (born 1909)
Fireworks, Victory Celebration, May 9, 1945
Period gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
May 9 marks the celebration of Victory Day, the end of the Great Patriotic War. Early in
the morning of May 7, 1945, German Chief-of-Staff General Alfred Jodl signed a
document of unconditional surrender at the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary
Force (SHAEF) at Reims in northeastern France. General Jodl signed a separate
surrender to the Red Army late the next night in Berlin, thus taking effect on May 9 in
Moscow time. The Allies had agreed to mark May 9 as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, but
Western journalists broke the news of Germany's surrender prematurely. As a result, May
8 is celebrated as V-E Day in the Western world.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end World War II, commemorated by
gatherings of heads of state in Europe on May 8 and in Moscow on May 9.
[Portable Wall - Icons of War]
44
Max Alpert (1899-1980)
Battalion Commander, 1942
Gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
This photograph is one of the most famous Soviet photographs of World War II. The
striking image of a Soviet leader urging his men forward was used on billboards and
posters throughout the remainder of the war to illustrate the indomitable Soviet will to
victory.
45
Dmitri Baltermants (1912-1990)
Attack, November, 1941
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
One of Baltermants' most memorable photographs, Attack conveys a powerful sense of
immediacy. According to Baltermants' widow, it was initially criticized because its
portrayal of 'half-a-man' was inconsistent with the propagandistic tenets of Socialist
Realism.
46
Emanuil Evzerikhin (1911-1984)
Stand 'till Death, 1941-45
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
The Battle for the Eastern Front: Photographs from the William Broyles, Jr. Collection
[Portable Wall - Love and War]
47
Mikhail Trakhman (1918-1976)
Farewell Kiss, 1942-43
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
A mother gives her partisan son a farewell kiss, knowing it could well be their last.
48
Mikhail Trakhman (1918-1976)
Before Returning to the Front, 1942-43
Vintage gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.
49
Ivan Shagin (1904-1982)
On the Road to Berlin, 1944
Period gelatin silver print
Collection of William Broyles, Jr.