Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman at the
peace conference. He seems to have captured the
character of Stalin in works such asTruman and
Stalin, Potsdam, July 1945, and Potsdam, July
- In the latter image, Khaldei placed Stalin in
the center of a picture so that he is the focus of
attention. He also stands out in his white suit. At
Nuremburg, Khaldei photographed the war crim-
inal and, especially, Hermann Goering at the trials,
who was extremely angry that the soldiers allowed a
Russian to photograph him.
In 1947, Robert Capa was visiting Russia, but
was not able to leave the country with his undeve-
loped film. Khaldei processed the film for him.
Capa, stunned by his lack of equipment, gave Khal-
dei a Speed Graphic camera.
In 1948, Khaldei was dismissed and given no
reason by TASS. According to the Nakhimovskys,
his employment may have ended due to anti-Semit-
ism or time he spent alone photographing Josip Broz
Tito, who recently broke with Stalin, in his office.
After his dismissal from TASS, Khaldei contin-
ued to work as a photographer producing works
such as portraits of composer Dimitry Shostako-
vich and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich in 1951. In
1959, he was hired by the Russian newspaper
Pravda and photographed Russian life. He was
forced out for being Jewish in 1976.
Khaldei only began to be recognized towards the
end of his life through awards, exhibitions, and
publications. In 1995, he was awarded a medal
from the French Ministry of Culture. Colgate Uni-
versity Professor Nakhimovsky can be credited
with bringing attention to the photojournalist in
the United States through organizing the exhibi-
tionThe Lens of the Beholder: Photographs of the
Soviet Empire(Picker Art Gallery from October
29–December 15, 1995) and writing Witness toYevgeny Khaldei (Jewgeni Chaldej), Ruinen im Zentrum Berlins.
[Courtesy of Deutsches Historisches Museum, Reprinted by permission of Voller Ernst]
KHALDEI, YEVGENY