K.u.k. Kriegspressequartier, Lichtbildstelle – Wien
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Public Domain
Situated near the Austrian-Hungarian and Russian front, the West Ukrainian city of Vladimir Wolinsky was partially destroyed during the first World War. An Austrian army command and barracks were subsequently erected to accommodate the treatment of injured soldiers, as well as the examination and interrogation of veterans. After the armistice of 1917, the citizens of Vladimir Wolinsky tried to return to normal life. Photographers serving the k.u.k. Kriegspressequartier (the Austrian-Hungarian military press office) documented every detail of this microcosm. This portrait, depicting a homecomer from Russian captivity, belongs to a series of photographs made between December 1917 and March 1918. The images stand out from conventional war photos. What could have motivated a war photographer to focus on anonymous civilians? Could it be that he too was looking for compelling stories of people on the move?
