Romanian POWs from the Battle of Stalingrad

Accession Number
2013/2.328

Title
Romanian POWs from the Battle of Stalingrad

Artist(s)
Dmitri Baltermants

Artist Nationality
Russian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1942, printed 2003

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
192 in x 20 in (487.68 cm x 50.8 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Thomas Wilson '79 and Jill Garling '80

Subject matter
In this photograph, a column of men in matching wool coats and fur hats—indicated by the title to be Romanian POWS—files through a snowy landscape. The curving horizon is barely distinguishable from the pale sky. Nevertheless, the dark charcoal gray of the men’s coats contrast starkly with the bright white of their surroundings. In the distance near the right-hand edge of the photograph, a group of soldiers in a different uniform watches the procession go by, evidently members of the Soviet Red Army. This image forms part of Baltermants’ 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 Description
A column of men in long coats and fur hats march through a snow-covered landscape.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
armies
battles
journalistic photography
prisoners of war
snow (precipitation)
soldiers
war photography
wars

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& Author Notes

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