Robert Capa was one of the most famous photographers of the twentieth century and his images of the Spanish Civil War captured the brutality of that conflict. However, new information suggests that Capa did not photograph soldiers in the midst of battle, but staged his subjects. His photograph, “Fallen Soldier,” was apparently faked during a training exercise. Read the following article from the New York Times. Again, this calls into question, “What is   true?”

New York Times article on Robert Capa

As a follow-up to this article, the former photo editor of The New York Times posted this article on his blog. It is excellent, as are his examples. Don’t forget to read the comments which are especially thoughtful and recommend other sites on this topic. Many of the writers draw the distinction between photographs that are posed, altered, or staged after the fact.

New York Times LensBlog

Notice how the writer weaves quotes into his story. The opinions of his subjects “ground” the story and make it more substantial. And yet, the article is not weighed down by quotes. Quite a feat for such a short piece.

And then there is the “So what?” factor. I think the “so what?” of this story is the romance that can be found even in a huge city — even on the subway.

So give it a read.

The Subway Sings Somewhere

The writer related the article to a new production of West Side Story opening on Broadway in March.

What would you do with $10?

In the corner of the archives library on the fifth floor of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum an unimposing elderly 80 year old man sits hunched over papers and a computer, deep in thought. Most visitors to the Museum don’t even know this area exists; yet it is vital to the museum itself.  Among these hushed archives Haim Solomon shares a story so familiar yet unique. He, like so many millions of others, was persecuted for his religious beliefs during the Holocaust.

Although Solomon was a young teenager during the Holocaust, the discrimination and hatred he experienced didn’t disappear with the end of World War II. Each day that he steps foot into the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and re-immerses himself into the terrors of his childhood, he shows a courage few of us could understand as he ensures the world “never forgets”.

Solomon is smartly dressed in a green and yellow plaid shirt, his light grey hair is combed neatly to one side and his glasses rest peacefully on his nose. He shares his life in a slow, accented English. “My story consists of hiding, moving, bribing, surviving…” While at times he is at a loss for words as he describes his journey to the Museum, he never loses the desire for his story to be heard.

Born in a small town of about 200 families in eastern Romania, Solomon’s childhood was spent on the main street, playing among the Jewish stores and workshops and in the fields owned by the local peasant farmers. As World War II progressed, Solomon’s family was eager to keep safe from the mounting violence and decided to move to the larger, nearby town of Iasi. The violence, however, found them there.  On the night of June 28/29, 1941 the Romanian police launched the infamous ‘Iasi Pogrom’ to cleanse Iasi of its Jews, under the order of the leader Ion Antonescu (International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania 23). Thousands of Jews were herded into the police station where the police “…took guns, bats, hammers…shot, stabbed, beat all the Jews…and killed them,” explained Solomon. Once the killing had stopped, as many as 5,000 Jews were packed tightly into train cars. These “death trains” were then sent to other parts of Romania with people surviving the trip (International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania 24).

Luckily Solomon’s family all survived the Pogrom.  “The streets were deserted and eerie,” he recalled. While daily routines changed, life continued with relative normalcy. It wasn’t long until new rumors of violence spread, so Solomon’s family moved to the capital, Bucharest. “In Bucharest, the atmosphere was charged. We were sitting and waiting for the Russians to come. And sure enough, in January 1945, they did come,” Solomon continued. While the Soviets declared their desire for all minorities to be represented in their new Communist government, Solomon’s family was soon warned that their newfound safety might not be as secure as they thought.

Solomon decided it was time to leave conflict-ridden Europe for Israel. He found a spot on a converted fruit boat seeking to illegally enter Israel. Not long into the voyage, British officials captured the boat and all the passengers were sent to camps on Cyprus. After a year in the camps, Solomon escaped and was reunited with his family in Israel, which is still home to many of them today.

As Solomon recounts his story amongst the archives at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, he was careful to clarify. “…I never despaired. I never lost my direction, my promise. I never envisioned myself gone, only advancing.”

Five days after ending a 38-year career at the US Food and Drug Administration, Solomon started his first day of volunteer work in the archives. He is just one of over 100 survivors that volunteer on a regular basis at the Museum. “There is only one other museum that has ‘survivor volunteers’ in DC: the Native American museum,” explains Ken Bowen, a Coordinator in Visitor Services, in the bustling lobby of the Museum. “I think it’s great for the public to hear survivors speak. We have people who were the age of the kids now visiting the Museum when the Holocaust happened. It brings a realization to what really happened.”

After six years of volunteer work, Solomon shares his results with extreme pride. He is given tapes with over 800 pages of records from the Minister of War in Romania during the Holocaust and he makes them accessible to visitors and researchers. There “aren’t many Romanians capable of translating and summarizing [the war records] and I’m glad to help. It’s good for my memory.” He has already archived over 100 rolls.

While the events of the Holocaust are over 60 years old, his wounds still appear raw. Even though Solomon’s arm is free from the famous numbered tattoo, his voice can’t hide the terror he experienced. “This is not just a museum, it’s a university, a school,” explains Solomon after a prolonged pause, when considering importance of the Museum. “This is our story. But what we do with it is tell the world you can’t just go with the flow… if you are stronger, you can’t annihilate a population. You can teach them a lesson but not take them out of existence…They need[ed] a scapegoat. That is what Jews used to be for European countries. But we progress, we advance.”

While few know that Romania massacred more of its Jewish population than any other country, aside from Germany, during the Holocaust (International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania 2), it is thanks to the dedication of volunteers like Solomon that the terror unleashed on the 800 000 Jews living in Romania is clearly documented for the world to never forget. As one leaves the Museum, a quotation by the famous Holocaust survivor and author, Elie Wiesel rings true, “When we say ‘never again’ what does it mean?” Perhaps it means that we can no longer act as passive by standards to the horrors in this world. “No matter how poor you are…” concludes Solomon, “…there is room for you to repair the world. We are here for a certain period. But for what? Something. This is the something that you have to get up and do.”

Works Cited

Bowen Ken. Personal interview. 27. Oct. 2009.

International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania. “Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania.” 11 Nov. 2004. Web. 4 Nov 2009.

Solomon, Haim. Personal interview. 22 Oct. 2009. 27 Oct. 2009.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “From Memory to Action: Meeting the Challenge of Genocide.” 22 Oct. 2009.

Here is the article: Bowery Building

1. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the unlikely friendship between Bryson and Katz. What is the relationship based on? Consider, especially, the episode in Maine when Katz gets lost: somehow the friendship is altered. How does Bryson’s attitude toward Katz change over the course of the book? How does Katz himself change? Or does he? What was Katz’s motivation, anyway, to walk the AT?  As you are about to write a personality profile based on an interview, not how Bryson develops the character of Katz.

2. The book offers an excellent microscope through which to examine the meaning of friendship—our own friendships. Do the two men remind you of friends who tested your patience, but who exhibited intense loyalty?

3. In fiction a journey usually symbolizes a journey of self-discovery—at the end the protagonist comes to learn something about him/herself. Although A Walk isn’t a novel, do either of the men come to greater self-awareness by the end of their journey? What is the “So What Factor? in A Walk in the Woods?

4. The tone of the book veers back and forth between humor and seriousness, even anger. In fact, the book is a sort of jeremiad against environmental threats to the great wilderness areas of the country. Is Bryson’s anger justified? He criticizes, but does he offer solutions? Are there solutions?

5. Katz pokes fun at rural Southerners, which some readers find funny, others find offensive. You?

6. Bryson ponders the attraction of hiking: ”You have no engagements, commitments, obligations, or duties; no special ambitions and only the smallest, least complicated of wants; you exist in a tranquil tedium, serenely beyond the reach of exasperation.” If you’re a hiker, backpacker, camper, are your experiences similar to or different from Bryson’s? For those who aren’t hikers, are there other avenues to “exist in a tranquil tedium”?

7. You might also talk about the numerous characters Bryson and Katz meet on the trail. Mary Ellen is one, for instance: how do you feel about their treatment of her?

8. A Walk in the Woods in very entertaining, but it also gives a lot of information. How does Bryson incorporate the material about the Appalachian Trail, statistics and facts about nature and the story of two middle-aged guys ambling along the trail? (Think about pace.)

9. Note Bryson’s description. How does he tell you how cold it was when they first started? How frightened he was when he thought Katz was lost? What Centralia looked like?

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch

The second interview is a subject about which you may be more familiar. Google executive Marisa Mayer is at the peak of her career at Google. Instead of reflecting on her life, the interview shows a woman with relentless drive and ambition. Compare the rhythm of the articles — the first is reflective and leisurely; the second is as driven as its subject. But in the the interviewer had an enormous amount of information before the interview and was able to ask well-informed questions — as evidenced in the subjects’ thoughtful answers.

Notice, too, that the interviewers are virtually invisible. There is no evidence of the questions asked (“And then I asked Ed Koch what he has on his tombstone.”), only of the answers given. This is exactly what you should strive for.Interview with Marisa Mayer of Google

Here is an article with a huge “so what” factor? Do New York Times’ readers really care about cheerleading. And yet, the writer manages to weave some of the major cultural changes in post-World War II America into the story. It helps that “Herkie” makes good copy.

Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you’re bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air’s interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by host and executive producer Terry Gross’ unique approach. “A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence,” says The San Francisco Chronicle.

Gross isn’t afraid to ask tough questions, but she sets an atmosphere in which her guests volunteer the answers rather than surrender them. What often puts those guests at ease is Gross’ understanding of their work. “Anyone who agrees to be interviewed must decide where to draw the line between what is public and what is private. But the line can shift, depending on who is asking the questions,” observes Gross. “What puts someone on guard isn’t necessarily the fear of being ‘found out.’ It sometimes is just the fear of being misunderstood.”

Another interviewer, this time on public television, is Charlie Rose. Go to this link to see an interview with Robin Williams that Rose could not control. Williams is in the driver’s seat and takes rose for a ride Charlie Rose interview with Robin Williams. But, in general, Rose is a knowledgeable, “warm” interviewer. He has conducted hundreds of interviews. Go to his website (where they are listed alphabetically) and listen to a few.Charlie Rose website

This is harder to do than it seems. The writer had to edit and rearrange Kala’s interview into a cohesive monologue.

Article Kala Alexander