De Ondergedoken Camera

Hardcover
256 pages
Dimensions: 25 x 19 cm
Language: Dutch
ISBN: 9789462586857

An interesting photo-historical publication, with previously unpublished photographs from the last year of the war.
A group of photographers, known as The Underground Camera, determined our image of the German occupation. What did they photograph, how did they work? Led by resistance fighter Tony van Renterghem and filmmaker Fritz Kahlenberg, these photographers worked in secret to document life under the occupation. They mainly took photographs in Amsterdam of, among other things, the miserable conditions during the Hunger Winter of 1944-1945, which were sent to London to convince the Dutch government in exile of the necessity of Allied food drops. After the war, these photographers, including big names such as Cas Oorthuys, Charles Breijer, Marius Meijboom and Emmy Andriesse, became famous for their images that made a lasting contribution to the image of the occupation. Yet little is known about the nature and extent of their work, the organization of the group and how the leadership operated from the hiding place in Amsterdam-Zuid. This book based on new archival research offers a unique insight into the daring missions of these photographers and their contribution to (photo) history.