Helena Janeczek's 'The Girl with the Leica' Reclaims Gerda Taro as Feminist Hero
Helena Janeczek's book 'The Girl with the Leica,' which received the Strega Prize in 2018, depicts Gerda Taro as a trailblazing war photographer and a symbol of feminism. Through the recollections of Willy Chardack, Georg Kuritzkes, and Ruth Cerf, the narrative traces Taro's evolution from Gerta Pohorylle, a German-Jewish communist, to her flight to Paris in the 1930s, where she encountered Robert Capa. Together, they devised their pseudonyms to counteract prejudice, but her photographs were often attributed to him. Taro lost her life on July 26, 1937, amidst the Spanish Civil War. Thousands attended her funeral on August 1, where Pablo Neruda and Louis Aragon delivered eulogies. Capa later honored her with the publication of 'Death in the Making' (1938).
Key facts
- Helena Janeczek won the 2018 Strega Prize for 'The Girl with the Leica'.
- The novel is told through the perspectives of Willy Chardack, Georg Kuritzkes, and Ruth Cerf.
- Gerda Taro was born Gerta Pohorylle in Stuttgart to a Polish-Jewish bourgeois family.
- She joined the German Communist Party in 1933 and was imprisoned for 17 days for anti-Nazi propaganda.
- Taro and Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann) chose pseudonyms inspired by Frank Capra and Greta Garbo.
- Taro died on July 26, 1937, after being run over by a tank during the Battle of Brunete.
- Her funeral on August 1, 1937, in Paris was attended by tens of thousands; eulogies by Pablo Neruda and Louis Aragon.
- Alberto Giacometti created a monument for her grave at Père-Lachaise Cemetery featuring a Horus falcon.
Entities
Artists
- Gerda Taro
- Robert Capa
- Helena Janeczek
- Willy Chardack
- Georg Kuritzkes
- Ruth Cerf
- Pablo Neruda
- Louis Aragon
- Alberto Giacometti
- Frank Capra
- Greta Garbo
- Judith Leyster
- Caroline Louisa Daly
- J. K. Rowling
- Luis Pérez Infante
- Alt-J
Institutions
- Strega Prize
- German Communist Party
- Vu
- Life
- International Center of Photography
- Magnum Photos
- Père-Lachaise Cemetery
- DailyArt Magazine
Locations
- Stuttgart
- Germany
- Paris
- France
- Spain
- Barcelona
- Brunete
- Valencia
- Córdoba
- Montparnasse
- Père-Lachaise Cemetery