raydm6
Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Thank you for posting this- I always enjoy watching the pictures of great photographers.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Horrible war, but great photography.
Erik.
Erik.
Out to Lunch
Ventor
If I remember correctly, this photo was heavily redacted in the darkroom: in the original version, the person below the one sticking in the flag was wearing not one but several watches -war booty, and this was not the image the Soviets wanted to propagate. Cheers, OtL
Coldkennels
Barnack-toting Brit.
It does look like he had one "watch" on each arm, which yes, would suggest he'd been looting - an action punishable by execution, supposedly. The original version (along with a couple of other shots taken at the same time) is viewable here: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/soviet-flag-reichstag-berlin-1945/
It's been claimed one of them was something called an "Adrianov compass". It's believable - they were used by the Red Army and do look a lot like a wristwatch.
Out to Lunch
Ventor
In The Fall of Berlin - 1945, Anthony Beevor describes how Berliners referred to Russian soldiers as ''Uri, Uri", since that is what they wanted: watches. Besides, the watches are not the only issue with this picture: the smoke was added in the darkroom. Not that we should be surprised: Khaldei was a Lieutenant in the Red Army and it was his job to produce quality propaganda.