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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

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 German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

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

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

by the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. Finally

repatriated Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. 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 the return of mi ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he finished high school at the

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the States of Germany, federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar ''Districts of Germany, Kreis''. It ...

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 ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

selling to various newspapers and magazines in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. Lebeck then went on to be employed by the magazines ''Illustrierte wie Revue'' and ''Kristall'', and finally by the German weekly news magazine ''

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

''. 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- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazi ...

''. Since 2001 Lebeck 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 Ambroise Boimbo (died 1981) was a Congolese citizen who snatched the ceremonial sword of King Baudouin I of Belgium on June 29, 1960, in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) on the eve of the independence of the Belgian Congo. He was a former soldier who ...

pinching the ceremonial sword of Belgian

King Baudouin Baudouin (; 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republi ...

. 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 (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' 11 May 2007

Exhibits

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

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

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 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its sculpt ...

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

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

1983 *"Robert Lebeck - Fotoreportagen",

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

(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 Lic ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

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

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

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

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

, 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 (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

'' 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