Drie Wehrmacht militairen 1940s

This photograph, by an anonymous artist, now at the Rijksmuseum, captures three Wehrmacht soldiers. I wonder about the making of this picture, what the photographer was thinking, what the context of its creation was. Was this a commissioned portrait, or a stolen moment? It’s interesting that this image—of a fraught subject—was made anonymously. You know, photography can be an act of care, it can record, it can make something live on. This picture feels like a document, maybe for family or friends back home. It shows how we’re all in conversation with each other through imagery. These three soldiers lean casually, almost playfully, against the railing. It is a stark and unposed image with an ungraspable narrative. There’s something really beautiful about the humanity of this stolen moment. Photography, like painting, can create this space, where you’re not quite sure of its meaning. It makes you question the photograph’s very existence.