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Markov-Grinberg photograph of Soviet soldiers crouching in a trench as a tank rolls across the gap

Object | Accession Number: 2005.565.2

Photographic print of Red Army soldiers in 1943 near Kursk, Soviet Union, by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and World War II correspondent. This image represents a scene from the Battle of Kursk, 1943, a major turning point of the war as it ended the German offensive in the east and gave the Soviet Army the strategic advantage for the rest of the war. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.

Artwork Title
In the Trenches, near Kursk
Date
depiction:  1943
Geography
creation: Kursk battlefield; Kursk (Russia)
Language
Russian
Classification
Photographs
Category
Artistic photography
Object Type
War photography (lcsh)
Credit Line
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Stephen Nicholas

About This Object

Physical Description
Black and white ferrotyped gelatin silver print, portrait orientation, depicting 4 male soldiers holding rifles, lined up in a narrow, V shaped trench, crouched down to avoid detection as a tank roles over the trench above their heads. In the foreground, a man leans against the right wall; his rifle barrel pointed up; in the middle ground, the picture’s focal point, a man leans against the left wall, gun pointed towards the right; the tank treads are directly overhead. In the background are two men: the 1st leans right, his rifle obscuring his face; the 2nd leans left, gun to the right, face obscured by the 1st man’s torso. All wear quilted coats and ushankas with the flaps tied to the crown. The tank’s front 4 wheels with caterpillar tracks, can be seen crossing the trench at an upward angle. The photographer’s viewpoint is from inside the trench, facing the soldiers; there is no eye contact. The left trench wall is out of focus, and contrasts with the roughly textured walls. The artist’s signature, year, title, and a number are inscribed on the reverse.
Dimensions
overall: Height: 19.880 inches (50.495 cm) | Width: 23.500 inches (59.69 cm)
Materials
overall : paper, emulsion, gelatin silver print
Signature
back, center, script, pencil : M. Markov-Grinberg
Inscription
back, center, Russian script, pencil : 1943 [Symbol]
back, top left corner, pencil : 14
Contributor
Artist: Mark Markov-Grinberg
Subject: Mark Markov-Grinberg
Biography
Mark Borisovich Markov-Grinberg was born on November 27, 1907, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. He learned photography at secondary school. In 1925, he took his first job as a photographer for the Sovetsky Yug (Soviet South) newspaper and worked as a freelance correspondent for Ogonyok magazine. In 1926, Markov-Grinberg moved to Moscow and worked for various trade union newspapers and the magazine, Krasnoarmeyskaya Smena (Transformation). In 1930, he accepted an offer to work for the Fotokhronika TASS (Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union). He traveled around the country photographing the official Soviet Union: major construction projects, collective farms, and happy workers engaged in building Soviet Society, as well as prominent Russian and foreign personalities. His photographs appeared in major Soviet publications, including USSR in Construction, a magazine that documented Stalin’s Five-Year Plans to industrialize the Soviet Union. In 1934, TASS commissioned Markov-Grinberg to create a photo essay detailing a day in the life of Ukrainian miner, Nikita Izotov. He created an iconic portrait of Izotov as a Socialist worker hero. The Izotov photo essay launched Markov-Grinberg's career as a Stalin-era photographer and he became one of the most important photographers of his generation. His work was part of the socialist realist movement in photography which pictured life as it should be in idealized images made to look like objective recordings of things as they were.
During the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940), Markov-Grinberg worked for TASS as a war correspondent and documented the fighting on the Karelian Isthmus. In September 1941, he was drafted into the Red Army, and continued to take photographs. He became the army correspondent for the military publication, Slovo Boitsa (Soldier’s World), in July 1943. He created well-known images of the Battle of Kursk and the crematorium at Stutthof concentration camp, when it was liberated on May 9, 1945, by the Soviet Army.
Markov-Grinberg lost his job with TASS in 1948 as a result of the anti-Semitic climate of late Stalinism. After his demobilization in 1953, he worked as a photographer for the Red Army Illustrated Gazette and, later, for the photography publishing office of the Soviet Union Agricultural Exhibition, a theme park about the People’s Economy. From 1957–1973, Markov-Grinberg worked for the Club and Art Hobby magazine. He took part in photography exhibitions in the USSR and abroad. An honorary member of the Russian Union of Art Photographers, Markov-Grinberg died in 2006 at the age of 99.

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
The photographic print was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Dr. Stephen Nicholas.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use
Restrictions on use

 
Record last modified: 2023-09-15 10:13:53
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn518098

Also in Mark Markov-Grinberg collection

The collection consists of photographic prints created by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and war correspondent during World War II.

Date: 1933-1943

Markov-Grinberg photograph of the crowd celebrating as Soviet planes fly over the State Historical Museum

Object

Photographic print of a parade in Red Square by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and World War II correspondent. The print documents a parade given in honor of the Cheluskin polar expedition participants. The expedition was sent to see if a non-icebreaker ship could pass through the Northern Maritime Route in a single navigation season. The ship sank in an ice field on February 13, 1934, and the crew was rescued in April by aircraft. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.

Markov-Grinberg photograph of a Soviet soldier kissing his rifle in front of the assembled troops

Object

Photographic print of a Soviet soldier at a 1943 Oath of War ceremony by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and World War II correspondent. Markov-Grinberg took this photograph minutes before the regiment depicted attacked an entrenched German defensive position. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.

Markov-Grinberg photograph of a policeman directing traffic in a Moscow intersection at night

Object

Photographic print of a nighttime traffic scene created in 1936 by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and World War II correspondent. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.

Markov-Grinberg photograph of an aerial formation seen from below

Object

Photographic print of a 1933 air show near Moscow created by Mark Markov-Grinberg. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.

Markov-Grinberg photograph of 2 teams of 3 yoked horses and sleighs racing in the snow

Object

Photographic print of 2 horse teams racing through the countryside created in 1934 by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and World War II war correspondent. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.

Markov-Grinberg photograph of a Ukrainian coal miner and iconic Soviet worker hero

Object

Photographic print of Ukrainian miner, Nikita Izotov, by Mark Markov-Grinberg. In 1934, Markov-Grinberg was commissioned by TASS to create a photo essay about a day in the life of coal miner Nikita Izotov. Markov was to depict Izotov as a progressive man and show the good life of Soviet miners. He lived for six months with the Izotov family and created an iconic portrait of the Socialist worker hero. The published photo essay circulated in European publications, including Belgium and France, and the full series of fourteen photographs appeared in the German Workers Illustrated Newspaper. The Izotov photo essay was a sensation in Russia and launched Markov-Grinberg's career as a Stalin-era photographer. He was a major Social Realist photographer during the 1930s-1940s, working for major newspapers and journals. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, Markov-Grinberg returned to his job at TASS.

View All 7 Items in the Collection