No one is better suited to kick off this series than Robert Lebeck, a native Berliner. He is one of the defining figures of postwar German photojournalism.
Image gallery
Konrad Adenauer empfängt Winston Churchill im Palais Schaumburg, Bonn 1956
Willy Brandt im Speisewagen auf Wahlkampfreise, Süddeutschland 1973
Rudi Dutschke während seiner Rede in der Karls-Universität, Prag 1968
In an era when the country was reorienting itself and global politics were in flux, he developed a visual language that not only documented but also told a story.
Born in Berlin in 1929, the self-taught photographer worked as a photojournalist for various newspapers and magazines such as Revue and Kristall starting in 1952. He worked for Stern magazine for over three decades. His work, characterized by empathy and curiosity, serves as the visual memory of the young Federal Republic of Germany.
Lebeck traveled the world, photographing in major cities and the provinces, at political events and in everyday life. He portrayed politicians, artists, and intellectuals as well as people far removed from the public eye. All his photographs convey a sense of intimacy and capture his subjects in authentic moments of openness.
His 1960 reportage from the Congo became famous: during the independence celebrations, a young man snatches the sword from the Belgian king—a brief, fleeting moment in which the end of colonial power structures comes to light. Such photographs made Lebeck a chronicler of upheaval. But just as significant are his quiet observations behind the scenes of major events: the global star Romy Schneider in striking vulnerability, exhausted prisoners of war returning home to the Friedland camp, celebrating Elvis Presley fans in East Berlin, or the grieving Jacqueline Kennedy at the coffin of her husband, the U.S. president assassinated in 1963.
Robert Lebeck was an innovator of photojournalism: His images combine journalistic precision with poetic depth. They tell of a world in transition—and of the people within it.
Opening: Thu, May 21, 2026, 7–9 p.m. Free admission!
Speakers: Katharina Mouratidi, Artistic Director of f³ – freiraum für fotografie, and Cordula Lebeck, Robert Lebeck Archive.
PHOTO TOUR with Cordula Lebeck, Sun., June 7, 2026, 11 a.m.
PHOTO TOUR & DRINKS with Katharina Mouratidi and Cordula Lebeck, Thu., June 18, 2026, 7 p.m.
