Robert Capa was born Endre Friedmann on October 22,
1913 in a troubled home of Jewish tailors in Budapest, Hungary. Capa’s mother
pampered him and tried to make a good life for her son. However, his father’s
gambling and drunkenness did not allow it to be the happiest of homes.[1] Because
of his parent’s marital issues, Capa would try to escape his home as much as
possible. Thus, from an early age of around ten years old Capa “became
increasingly independent.” [2]
At the age of 18, Capa left home on July 12, 1931. This was a momentous day because it was the “only home he would ever know. For the rest of his life he was to live essentialy as a nomad, residing mostly in a succession of hotel rooms and never occupying any one apartment for more than a few months.”[3] However, Capa was “ready for such a life: he had spent years of precocious independence preparing for it.”[4]
Eventually he attended college in Berlin studying journalism at the German Political College. Capa was financially struggling and thus knew he needed a way to make money in order to continue pursuing his academic interests. He then began to be interested in photography as a way to make some money.[5] At the same time, the environment in Berlin was becoming increasingly hostile to Jews, thus forcing Capa to abandon his studies in journalism.[6] Already intrigued by photography because of the monetary gain and the adventure associated with it, Capa fled for Paris to pursue that interest.[7] Capa traveled with a friend from his youth, Csiki Weisz. The photographer Ata Kando noted that the two young men traveled “with a single treasure: a camera.”[8]
Capa at first tried to make his first name more acceptable in France, so he changed it from Endre to Andre.[9] In time, he changed his name to Robert Capa, becoming one of the most famous World War II photographers. In a 1947 radio interview, Capa stated that he changed his name to Robert Capa because it sounded more American. Some people assume that he invented the last name Capa after the famous movie director Frank Capra. Moreover, he arrived at the first name Bob because it sounded something like his childhood nickname Bandi.[10] Thus, just as Robert Capa invented and created his own image, he left some excellent and compelling images depicting the devastation and victories of some of the most important battles of war in the mid twentieth century.
[1] Alex Kershaw, Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa (New York: DaCapo Press, 2002), 8-9.
[2] Richard Whelan, Robert Capa: A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985), 10.
[3] Ibid., 22
[4] Ibid.
[5] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 16.
[6] Ibid., 20-21.
[7] Ibid., 21.
[8] Bernard Lebrun and Michel Lefebvre, Robert Capa: The Paris Years 1933-1954 (New York: Abrams, 2011), 41.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 29.
At the age of 18, Capa left home on July 12, 1931. This was a momentous day because it was the “only home he would ever know. For the rest of his life he was to live essentialy as a nomad, residing mostly in a succession of hotel rooms and never occupying any one apartment for more than a few months.”[3] However, Capa was “ready for such a life: he had spent years of precocious independence preparing for it.”[4]
Eventually he attended college in Berlin studying journalism at the German Political College. Capa was financially struggling and thus knew he needed a way to make money in order to continue pursuing his academic interests. He then began to be interested in photography as a way to make some money.[5] At the same time, the environment in Berlin was becoming increasingly hostile to Jews, thus forcing Capa to abandon his studies in journalism.[6] Already intrigued by photography because of the monetary gain and the adventure associated with it, Capa fled for Paris to pursue that interest.[7] Capa traveled with a friend from his youth, Csiki Weisz. The photographer Ata Kando noted that the two young men traveled “with a single treasure: a camera.”[8]
Capa at first tried to make his first name more acceptable in France, so he changed it from Endre to Andre.[9] In time, he changed his name to Robert Capa, becoming one of the most famous World War II photographers. In a 1947 radio interview, Capa stated that he changed his name to Robert Capa because it sounded more American. Some people assume that he invented the last name Capa after the famous movie director Frank Capra. Moreover, he arrived at the first name Bob because it sounded something like his childhood nickname Bandi.[10] Thus, just as Robert Capa invented and created his own image, he left some excellent and compelling images depicting the devastation and victories of some of the most important battles of war in the mid twentieth century.
[1] Alex Kershaw, Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa (New York: DaCapo Press, 2002), 8-9.
[2] Richard Whelan, Robert Capa: A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985), 10.
[3] Ibid., 22
[4] Ibid.
[5] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 16.
[6] Ibid., 20-21.
[7] Ibid., 21.
[8] Bernard Lebrun and Michel Lefebvre, Robert Capa: The Paris Years 1933-1954 (New York: Abrams, 2011), 41.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 29.