Gerda Taro
German photographer (1910–1937)
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Key Takeaways
- Gerta Pohorylle (1 August 1910 – 26 July 1937), known professionally as Gerda Taro , was a German war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War.
- Taro was the companion and professional partner of photographer Robert Capa, who, like her, was Jewish.
- Therefore, a significant amount of what is credited as Robert Capa's early work was actually created by Taro.
- She studied at Queen Charlotte High School (de), spent a year at a Lausanne boarding school, and later attended a business college.
- Taro opposed the Nazi Party and became interested in Leftist politics.
Gerta Pohorylle (1 August 1910 – 26 July 1937), known professionally as Gerda Taro, was a German war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War. She is regarded as the first female photojournalist to have died while covering the frontline in a war.
Taro was the companion and professional partner of photographer Robert Capa, who, like her, was Jewish. The name "Robert Capa" was originally an alias that Taro and Capa (born Endre Friedmann) shared, an invention meant to mitigate the increasing political intolerance in Europe and to attract the lucrative American market. Therefore, a significant amount of what is credited as Robert Capa's early work was actually created by Taro.
Early life
Gerta Pohorylle was born on 1 August 1910 in Stuttgart, Germany, to Gisela Boral and Heinrich Pohorylle, a middle-class Jewish family that had recently emigrated from East Galicia. She studied at Queen Charlotte High School (de), spent a year at a Lausanne boarding school, and later attended a business college.
In 1929, the family moved to Leipzig, just prior to the rise of Nazi Germany. Taro opposed the Nazi Party and became interested in Leftist politics. In 1933, following the Nazi party's coming to power, she was arrested and detained for distributing propaganda against the National Socialists. Eventually, the entire Pohorylle household was forced to leave Germany toward different destinations. Taro, age 23, headed for Paris, while her parents attempted to reach mandatory Palestine. Her brothers went to England. She would not see her family for the rest of her life.
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