Raising a Flag over the Reichstag

A staged photograph by Soviet photographer Yevgeny Khaldei depicting soldiers raising a Soviet flag over Berlin’s Reichstag on 2 May 1945. Its retouching and uncertain identification of the soldiers became part of its history.

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Yevgeny Khaldei: A Soviet photojournalist whose images documented the Second World War, including the Reichstag flag photograph. He staged and photographed the image, drawing on an earlier flag-raising scene he had witnessed.
Photojournalism: Journalistic practice that uses photographs to document events and communicate news. The image circulated as wartime reportage despite its deliberate staging.
Battle of the Reichstag: The fighting for the Reichstag building during the Soviet assault on Berlin in late April and early May 1945. The battle supplied the setting and subject that Khaldei reconstructed for his photograph.
Soviet victory in World War II: The defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union and its allies in Europe in 1945. The photograph became a compact visual emblem of Soviet victory.
Reichstag: A historic Berlin building that housed Germany’s parliament and became a battlefield during the city’s capture in 1945. Its roof and damaged façade form the setting for the photograph.
Photographic retouching: The alteration of a photograph’s appearance through editing or modification of its image. Khaldei’s published version was retouched, including removal of a wristwatch from a soldier’s arm.
Iwo Jima flag raising: A 1945 photograph by Joe Rosenthal showing U.S. Marines raising a flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Khaldei’s image is often compared with this other carefully composed wartime flag photograph.
Iconic image: A widely recognized visual representation that condenses a person, event, or idea into a memorable image. Repeated publication turned this staged scene into one of the war’s defining photographs.
Battle of Berlin: The final major battle in Europe during the Second World War, fought in and around Berlin in April and May 1945. The photograph represents the Soviet capture of Berlin at the battle’s end.
Staged photography: Photography in which people, objects, or actions are arranged for the camera rather than simply recorded as they occur. Khaldei arranged the scene and used smoke to heighten its dramatic effect.