REICHSTAG FLAG PHOTO BY YEVGENY KHALDEI PRESENTATION BY LUQMAAN BOKHARY

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Picture taken during WWII on May On top of Reichstag (a former Nazi seat of the government) building in Soviet-occupied Berlin, Germany. Picture taken by Yevgeny Khaldei, a Soviet photojournalist. Inspired by the Iwo Jima picture.

CHARACTER The three characters are depicted as wearing black, symbolizing evil, power, death, and fear. The soldier near the bottom of the picture is holding the Soviet Flag over the Reichstag, indicating the downfall of the Nazis and the rule of the Soviets. You can’t see who the soldiers are so they can be anybody.

COLOR The picture was taken in black and white. Dominating color is gray. Gray suggests depression and dullness in this image. Farther in the image, gray turns into a near-white shade symbolizing hope. The black of the soldiers symbolizes the evil, power, fear, and death.

LIGHT The light source of this image isn’t depicted. Evidence of fire because of the smoke. Man made-fire depicts bad situation and pollution.

ANGLE This photo was taken at a bit of an angle looking down, giving the viewer a deeper view of the surroundings. Soldier and flag seem a bit bigger than the rest of the city. The Reichstag dominates the left side of the image and not shown in its entirety. Other buildings are more exposed yet are smaller in comparison to Reichstag. Symbolizes dominance

PROPORTION The dark buildings dominate the photo emphasizing the destruction and pain the people of Berlin went through. Although sky takes up most of photo, the Reichstag stops it reaching from left to right. Shows there’s still hope but government will come in the way of it. The flag is disproportionally large because it again symbolizes the dominance of the Soviets.

PLACEMENT The photographer chose to place the Soviet flag in the middle to make it the center of attention. He also places two men in the background to foreshadow evil. The damaged buildings show the capability of man to destroy things and cause chaos. Yet the architecture and detail of the Reichstag show it’s capability to do the opposite.

SETTING The action of the image takes place in the middle where the soldier is raising the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. This picture was taken after the Soviets had ousted the Nazis. The time of day is unknown for this image because it doesn’t show the sun nor shadows.

Character: The character holding the flag represents all of the Soviet soldiers. This is because the soldier’s face isn’t shown, meaning that it could be anyone in the Soviet Army (Red Army, in this case). The person’s clothes that are captured black by the camera are symbols of evil, power, death, and fear. This basically foreshadows the years of violence, instability, and war that will follow the end of the capture of Germany. The way that the soldier holds the flag over the Reichstag, which is the former seat of the government of the Nazis, further emphasizes the end of Nazi rule and the start of the Soviet rule. Color: This photograph was taken in black and white, therefore, the primary color is gray with some black. There isn’t a sharp contrast because most of the colors in the photograph are dark shades. The main objects that are dark are the soldiers and the city, whom take up a lot of space, therefore representing the turmoil and destruction the city has gone because of the soldiers. The sky is mostly gray which represents depression and dullness throughout the city. However, the buildings progressively get lighter as they reach the horizon, indicating that the pain and suffering will soon fade away. Light: The light is distributed evenly among the photo, however, the light source isn’t shown. Unfortunately, there aren’t any shadows that can be seen to indicate where the light is coming from. On the other hand, evidences of a man-made fire are seen in the top right corner symbolizing the bad situation and pollution the war has caused. Angle: The photo was taken at a diagonal angle overlooking the soldier with the flag to make the viewer see the soldier, the flag, the buildings, and road down below. The main character (soldier with flag) was up and center making his flag and him seem bigger than everything else, showing the dominance of the Soviets over Germany. In addition, the angle makes it seem as if the Reichstag prohibits the sky from stretching from one side of the photo to the other. Proportion: In the photograph, the dark buildings take up a majority of the space emphasizing the problems and destruction brought upon the people of Berlin. Also, the sky takes up some space

depicting that there is hope for the people of Berlin. However, the Reichstag abruptly stops the sky from reaching the other side of the image. This shows that although there is still some hope, the government will come in the way of it. Placement: The soldier with the flag is placed near the center of the photograph, making it the first thing the viewer will notice about the image. Another subtle detail the photographer does is by adding the two silhouette-looking men in the background. They could possibly further symbolize, or foreshadow the impending evil that’s soon to come. Most photographers, specifically Nachtwey, like to contrast colors in a war-type photograph. In this photograph, Khaldei contrasts the destroyed buildings and the Reichstag by showing the capability of man to destroy things and cause chaos and then the Reichstag to show us the capability to do the opposite. Setting: The main action takes place in the center of the photo when the soldier is draping the flag over the Reichstag, signifying the end of the Nazi rule and the start of the Soviet. This photo was taken on May 2, 1945 after the Soviet had rid the city of any Nazis or people affiliated with them. The time of day is not known for this image because a source of light isn’t depicted nor are any shadows.