7.06.2013

Saturday, July 6, 1963: Portrait of Alfried Krupp


On assignment for Newsweek magazine, photographer Arnold Newman takes this portrait of German industrialist Alfried Krupp at a factory in Essen, Germany. (The photo would appear in the September 23 edition.) Krupp's sinister appearance is intentional; Newman, who was Jewish, told American Photo magazine in 2000: "Krupp ... used slave labor during World War II. When the workers were too weak to produce, he just shipped them off to Auschwitz to die. So when the editors asked me to photograph him I refused. They asked why. I said, 'Because I think of him as the devil,' and they said, 'Fine, that's what we think.' So I was stuck with the job. When I arrived at the factory and was told by Krupp's PR people that the sitting was off, I demanded that my photographs be shown to Krupp so that he could decide for himself. The startled PR guy complied, and then came back and said, 'Herr Krupp would like to see you.' Krupp told me, 'These are beautiful pictures. You must photograph me.' I asked to see the factory, and noticed a huge casting that I thought would make a good background. They moved it just for me, and built a special platform so that we would be overlooking the factory. I lit Krupp's face from slightly below, using two small lights. It was just an okay picture until I asked Krupp to lean forward. He leaned forward and my hair stood on end. He looked like the devil."
* Arnold Newman website: @
* Newman talks about other photos (from Getty Images website): @
* Slideshow of Newman's works (from University of Texas): @
* Newman obituary (New York Times, 2006): @
* Alfried Krupp biography (from Encyclopedia Britannica): @
* "Krupp Trial and Nazi Clemency" (video from Robert H. Jackson Center): @; website: @
* Time magazine cover of Krupp (August 1957): @
* Newsreel about Krupp's death (narrated in German): @
* "The Arms of Krupp" (William Manchester, 1968): @

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