DECEMBER 1943 – A small family celebrates Christmas in Kiel, Germany. Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
This photo from our family archive is very interesting. Shot on the 24th December 1943 in Kiel, Germany, the photo shows (from left) my grandfather Otto, my great-grandmother Eugenie, my grandmother Edith, and my great-grandfather Paul. It seems the dinner is over already, the kids are asleep, and now the party is about to begin.
The christmas tree is small and stands on a table. This is not a surprise, because it had been a difficult year for the people of Kiel as the number of air raids by the Allies had increased significantly. Otto and Edith seem to be in a good mood, though. A bit over the top, maybe, but still in a good mood. Paul and Eugenie seem to be more serious, and I am not sure whether Paul actually likes the scene.
Otto had been the photographer in the family, and it’s fair to assume that he set up the camera on a tripod or nearby table and use a self-exposure timer or maybe a wired remote release to create this photo. But it’s quite a distance from the table to the position of the camera, so I’d say he used a self-exposure timer. The technology had been available at the time albeit not as an in-camera function. Here is an excellent page by a collector of hardware timers (in German.)
And then there is the room. It’s the living room of their home in Kiel-Wik. It looks rather dark, but the illumination is pretty good. Maybe one hanging light off-camera on the left (over or near the table) and one light off-camera on the right (creating the shadow of Eugenie.)
All-in-all, it’s an interesting photo from an interesting period. I like it.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | 24-DEC-1943 |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | 6 x 6 cm Print |
| 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 | 2659 x 2580 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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