From Documenting War to Celebrating Life:

On November 11, 2021, we hosted the hybrid event Documenting War to Celebrating Life: The Story of a German-American Immigrant who Photographed Three Generations of Chicagoans, which took place simultaneously in Hamburg and Chicago. Our friends at the DANK Haus Chicago welcomed many attendees in person for the exhibition opening. Additionally, Hamburg and other viewers were able to join the accompanying lecture by John Heinsen virtually.

The focus of the exhibition and lecture was the life of John’s grandfather, Walter A. Heinsen (1899-1984). At the age of 16, Heinsen began his career as a war photographer during World War I in France and later fled to Chicago in 1923 to escape the turmoil of the Weimar Republic. Over the next 50 years, he established himself as one of the most successful child photographers in Chicago, Hamburg’s partner city, with his patented Bunnygraph.

Some of the war photographs shown were made available to the public for the first time in 100 years. For John Heinsen, these images symbolize the honor of all World War I veterans, regardless of nationality. In his lecture, John Heinsen shared his journey retracing his grandfather’s footsteps, which began in 2015. He has continually sought out the families of American prisoners of war captured during the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. For instance, in 2018, he located relatives of a British soldier featured in one of Walter A. Heinsen’s war photographs and gifted them the image. Thus, Walter A. Heinsen’s war photographs, preserved through John Heinsen’s efforts, acquire new meanings—both as visual memories and as human connections.

The concept of connection in this context encompasses different aspects: the bond between people from different nations (Germany, the USA, and to some extent, Britain), and also the connection to a historical event through the life stories of various individuals. Additionally, it became clear that Walter Heinsen’s biography is a tale of adventure, ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and success, with the connection between Hamburg and Chicago playing a significant role, making it a true transatlantic life story.

We experienced an intriguing, exciting, and particularly touching evening that left a lasting impression on many participants.