Accession Number2012/2.79
TitleTwo German POWs
Artist(s)Dmitri BaltermantsArtist NationalityRussian (culture or style)Object Creation Date1945Medium & Supportgelatin silver print on paperDimensions 16 in x 20 in (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA)Subject matterIn this photograph, two German prisoners of war cast their eyes downward and appear lost. They wear bulky, ill-fitting clothing and have cloth tied with rope around their feet in place of shoes. Gone is any material or insignia that would identify them as soldiers in the Nazi military. The tall, gaunt body of the leftmost figure traces the left-hand edge of the photograph and contrasts to his much shorter companion. Both stand in a rocky, barren landscape at the base of a hill or ravine. This image forms part of Baltermants’s larger project (as an official photographer to the Kremlin) which, spread across numerous portfolios, aimed to document scenes from the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945), known in the USSR as the Great Patriotic War.
Physical DescriptionTwo men in tattered winter clothing and cloth-wrapped feet stand amid rocky terrain.
Primary Object ClassificationPhotographCollection AreaPhotographyRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
German (culture or style)
journalistic photography
prisoners of war
soldiers
war photography