The Light of Truth

Exhibition Opening

On December 4, 2023, the special exhibition Through the Lens of Life – The Fascinating Life of Photographer Walter A. Heinsen opened at the BallinStadt Emigration Museum. Attendees included our Chairwoman Laura Langford, Torben Knye representing BallinStadt, U.S. Consul General in Northern Germany Jason Chue, and Walter Heinsen’s grandson and the exhibition’s curator, John Heinsen.

Following the introductory speeches guests had the opportunity to tour the special exhibition, engage with John about his grandfather, and learn more about the unique life story of Walter Heinsen.

Walter A. Heinsen

Walter A. Heinsen (1899-1984) began his career at the age of 16 as a German war photographer in France. Fleeing the turmoil of the Weimar Republic, he emigrated from Hamburg to the USA in 1923. Over the next 50 years, he became one of Chicago’s most successful child photographers with his patented “Bunnygraph.” “Walter A. Heinsen’s fascinating biography represents many emotional migration stories and highlights the significance of immigration and emigration in the societal context,” said Volker Reimers, Managing Director of BallinStadt.

The display of his grandfather’s nearly 100-year-old war photos symbolizes, for John Heinsen, a tribute to all World War I veterans. In his research, he continuously sought out the families of the first American POWs captured during the 1917 Battle of Cambrai. For instance, in 2018, he located the family of a British soldier featured in one of Walter A. Heinsen’s POW photographs and gifted them the image. “Walter A. Heinsen’s war photography takes on new meanings through John Heinsen’s dedication—those of visual memory and human connection,” said Laura Langford. “It’s wonderful to return to Hamburg and celebrate my grandfather’s life and work in a city he truly loved. It is important to be here at a time when we must remember the lessons of World War I to learn from them and achieve peace for all the world’s people,” said John Heinsen.

Family Reunion

On Saturday, December 9, 2023, a special family reunion took place at the BallinStadt Emigration Museum. The German branch of the Heinsen family came to Hamburg to view the exhibition about their relative. For some, it was even their first meeting with other family members. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the gathering and was impressed by their family member’s achievements and the exhibition.

The Amerikazentrum Hamburg is proud to have made Walter A. Heinsen’s life story accessible to a German audience for the first time, in close collaboration with John Heinsen and in cooperation with the BallinStadt Emigration Museum. We are delighted that the exhibition, initially scheduled to run from December 5, 2023, to February 29, 2024, has generated such interest that it has been extended until March 17, 2024.

Additionally, as part of the 30th anniversary of the Hamburg-Chicago sister city partnership, the exhibition will be on display for a short time in the Rathausdiele of Hamburg City Hall. The exhibition is scheduled to be held from April 9 to May 3, 2024.

Come by and learn more about this life story, which is emblematic of the fates of many people who set out from Hamburg to the “New World.” It also embodies the historical connection between Hamburg and Chicago as well as the transatlantic relationships.