Karol SZCZECIŃSKI (1910-1995)

Untitled

1945
gelatin silver print, 18 × 23.9 cm,
two artist’s stamps and stamp reading "dwukrotny laureat GRAND PRIX Festiwal Filmowy Cannes" on the reverse

"The period following the liberation [...] was a time of moral depravity, de-everything. Society ceased to exist. The connections between individuals, families were broken. World War II was a steamroller that rolled over the world. It turned the globe inside out." This quote from Magdalena Grzebałkowska’s book 1945. Wojna i Pokój (Agora, 2015) are an accurate summary of the time when Szczeciński took the photograph. He documented the ruined Warsaw on many meters of motion-picture and photographic film. The reporter’s photographs show the ruins and city residents trying to survive in the difficult reality. The graffiti in the picture were made by survivors, who use the wall as the only available means of finding their relatives.
The photograph has been widely published, among others, in the above book by Grzebałkowska.