Accession Number
2014/2.266

Title
Resetting German Clocks Forward to Moscow Time

Artist(s)
Dmitri Baltermants

Artist Nationality
Russian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1945; printed 2003

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
20 in x 16 in (50.8 cm x 40.64 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA)

Subject matter
In this photograph, a Soviet soldier stands on a wooden ladder as he adjusts an outdoor clock on a city street in Germany. The large circular shape of the clock frames the face and right arm of this soldier, whose body is in a twisted pose as he balances on the ladder. Another soldier stands at the base of the ladder and watches his companion. The seemingly mundane task of adjusting the time on a clock here takes on a nationalistic significance as it indicates the Soviet occupation of a German town. 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
Two soldiers stand on, and near a ladder and adjust an outdoor clock which overhangs a town street.

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
clocks
journalistic photography
ladders
soldiers
villages
war photography