Werner Eckelt

1914–1990

Trained as a painter and graphic designer, Eckelt (German, 1914–1990) took up photography in the 1930s, documenting the streets of Berlin and its inhabitants with his camera. After the Second World War, Eckelt became a professional photojournalist, documenting the destroyed city of Berlin and its slow rebuilding. He worked for several German newspapers and photographed musicians like Yehudi Menuhin, Daniel Barenboim, Stefan Askenase and Gidon Kremer. But he never gave up photographing his favorite subject: the city of Berlin. His photographs depict Berlin between 1945 and 1988, thus capturing the divided city and especially West Berlin in its peculiar beauty and history.