1942 – At night, the lights of the Germaniawerft reflect in the cam water of the Kieler Förde in Kiel, Germany. Photo: Ferd. Urbahns
The story behind the image
A while ago I acquired this postcard that was sent in 1942. At that time, Germany had been taken over by the national socialists who were following a clear path towards warfare. They had massively increased the military spend and the wharf in Kiel, Germany, was working around the clock.
This is confirmed by this postcard image by photographer Ferdinand Urbahns (1863–1944). It shows a nightly view of the busy Germaniawerft in Kiel-Gaarden, opposite the city center.
It is a dark and intimidating image that suggests power. It is unclear whether Urbahns intended to provoke this emotion but it was certainly appreciated by the national socialists.
The photographer
Peter Detlef Ferdinand Urbahns was born in 1863 in Braake (Dithmarschen), Germany. He completed an apprenticeship as a photographer with Georg Johann Koch (1822–1902) in Schleswig, before continuing his training with Waldemar Renard (1850–1904) in Kiel from 1885 to 1889. Soon after, he opened his own around 1890 in Kiel and became one of the popular photographers for individual and group portraits. For a while he was even official court photographer to His Royal Highness, Prince Henry of Prussia.
His son Ferdinand took over the studio in 1938 (and it may well be that this image was shot by Ferdinand junior.)
Peter Detlef Ferdinand Urbahns died on 12th September 1944 in Stralsund, Germany.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1942 |
| Photographer | Ferd. Urbahns, Kiel |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | 14 x 9 cm postcard |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 6313 x 3786 Pixels |
| Copyright | © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Ferd. Urbahns |
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