MOVIE SEARCH: THE INVISIBLE AND FORGOTTEN GERDA TARO

After having read the novel, Waiting for Robert Capa, about the relationship between Gerda Taro and Robert Capa, I decided to do research work on the subject: Gerda Taro in movies. The life and work of  Ernest Hemingway and Andre Malraux have fascinated me the last Fifty years. I appreciate reading the works of authors who combine writing with actions-  political actions. The Spanish Civil War is history. The American author, Ernest Hemingway dediced himself to the fight for the Spanish democracy against fascisme. He wrote the novel , For Whom the Bell Tolls. The book became an international bestseller.A movie was also released with the same title as the book.The book is based on his own experience working as a war correspondence during the Spanish Civil War. The French author, Andre Malraux, joined the fighting too as the head of the Spanish Air Force. He went to Spain to fight. He wrote the novel, L’Espoir, (Hope), and he also produced a movie about the war.

The keywords chosen for my research in movies for shots of Gerda Taro were: Ernest Hemingway, Andre Malraux, Robert Capa, The Spanish Civil War, Norman Bethune, Martha Gellhorn, Lise Lindbæk, Nordahl Grieg, and Per Imerslund.

In year 1989 the movie, The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway, was released. I took it for granted that viewing the movie would lead me to the target: Gerda Taro. I was wrong. She is not even mentioned in the film. Reports about the life of foreign journalists and war photographers  working in Spain during the civil war content information that many of them stayed in Madrid at The Hotel Florida. Gerda Taro, Robert Capa and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel together. The movie about Ernest Hemingway is focusing only on the American writer himself. A negativ portray of the French author, Andre Malraux is made. No word about Robert Capa and Gerda Tora but a lot of information about the mistress of Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn. In year 1988 the movie, Hemingway, was released. I have viewed the film again seaching for shots of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro. Invain. They are not mentioned at all. Both films make a negativ  picture of Andre Malraux- an unfair description of the later French Minister of Culture. The result of my research was negative. I could not find the girl at all. This means that we are not waiting for Robert Capa but we are waiting for Gerda Taro. The invisible and immotalized young girl whose life  was too short , too dramatic -but of great value to many people.

Finally: Some facts about Gerda Taro. Her real name was Gerta Pohorylle. She was born August 1 1910 in Stuttgart, Germany. She died July 26 1937. A war photographer. She was the companion and professional partner of war photographer Robert Capa. She adopted the name Gerda Taro after having moved to Paris, France in 1934 where she met Robert Capa.. She dedicated herself to the fight against fascisme working as a war photographer and journalist in the Spanish Civil War. She was well educated having attended a Swiss boarding school.

When are we going to attend a movie about the legendary German,Jewish girl who died at the age of 26?

GERDA TARO: TOO YOUNG FOR PERE LACHAISE CEMETERY.A FICTIONAL STORY OF THE SHORT LIFE OF GERDA TARO

During year 2013 I visited a local bookshop  weekly. I noticed that one special book was not sold. I could not resist the temptation of reading some pages of the book from time to time. When the book was not sold in January 2014, I bought the book. The content of the book should be of great to the local feminist groups? The title of the book is: ” Waiting for Robert Capa” written by Susana Fortes. The title in Norwegian  is: ” Vente på Robert Capa”.

The book is a fictionalized account of the life of Gerda Taro and Robert Capa. I had few information about the young Jewish girl who lived and worked with the famous Jewish war photographer Robert Capa in Spain where she died in an accident. Susana Fortes has written a very good book about the young girl who was born in Stuttgard in 1910. Her real name was Gerta Pohorylle.
Her family moved to Leipzig in 1929. She opposed the Nazi party. Due to her political actions as an active member of leftis groups, her Jewish family was forced to leave Nazi Germany towards different destinations. Gerta Pohorylle became a refugee in Paris, France. She did not see her family again. Gerta Pohorylle and the Hungarian photojournalist, Endre Friedmann, decided to work together. They changed their names. Gerta Pohorylle became Gerda Taro and Endre Friedmann took the new name, Robert Capa.  ” Waiting for Robert Capa” is a thrilling and interesting story about two young Jewish refugees who make an attempt to survive in Paris. They never married but the relationship between them was close. They worked hard , made love but both wanted to be independent. Robert Capa was a young boy who had a positive atttude to any girl who appoarched him. Some of his friends were of the opinion that  such a man is a notorious womanizer? When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, they went to Barcelona, Spain together with David ” Chim” Seymour, a close friend. War photos were taken. They became famous for the work done. Gerda was very active making photos of the war. She was close to the objects, too close. In Spain she met a lot of people who were dedicated to the fight against the Fascists: Ernest Hemingway, General Lukasc, Ted Allan, Andre Malraux, John Cornford, Gustav Regler, Paul Robson, Dr. Norman Bethune, Pablo Neruda, Joris Ibens , Martha Gellhorn and many more.

Because I did not know much about Gerda Taro, I asked the younger generation about her. Unknown to the late teenager of the age of fifty. Research about her was made by viewing movies dealing with the Spanish Civil War. I was surprised to see that even in a movie about the famous Canadian doctor Norman Bethune , she was not mentioned .Dr. Noman Bethune is having an affair with a Swedish journalist, Ingrid Hallstrøm. The movie about Norman Bethue was made in 1990. The title of the movie is: Bethune

. The story is written by Ted Allan who was working with Norman Bethune in Spain. Ted Allan who was a young Canadian, joined the International Brigade to fight the fascist armies in Spain. To my surprise he is not mentioned by name in the movie  even if he wrote the story himself! Gerda Taro and Ted Allan worked together. Ted Allan was her last lover. He was with her when she died. It was an accident. During her coverage of the fighting at the Battle of Brunete, Gerda Taro hopped onto the footward of a car which was carrying wounded soldiers from the Republican army. A tank collided with the car and both Ted Allan and Gerda Taro were wounded. Ted survived but Gerda died from her wounds. The tank had run over her. She died on July 26, 1937. The French Communist Party gave her a grand funeral in Paris. She is buried at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

A portray of Robert Capa in action as a war photographer during the Spanish Civil War is made in the movie:”  Hemingway & Gellhorn ”. Gerda Taro is not mentioned at all in the film which was released in 2013. I don’t understand the decision of not making a story of her too?

Robert Capa and Ted Allan had an encounter in Paris after the funeral. Ted is still using crutches after the accident. The meeting is described in the book about Robert Capa: ” Robert Capa A Biography” written by Richard Whelan. I bought the German edition of the book during a short stay in the city of Kiel, Germany. The German title is:” Die Wahrheit is das beste Bild Robert Capa, Photograph. Eine Biographie ”. 1985.

” … Weisst du denn nicht,dass ich sie geliebt habe …”, Ted Allan fragte Robert Capa ….aber Capa entgegnete: ” ..Na und? Wie hattest du andres gekonnt? … Two men loved the same girl who they had lost.

The meeting was peacful. Robert Capa never married but he was a man who were approached by many ladies. The famous Swedish Actress, Ingrid Bergman, was one of many who wanted the man who never could forget Gerda Taro.

Susana Fortes has made a nice portray of the fascinating girl who died too young. I recommend the book to every feminist group around the world and to men too. What a girl! Ted Allan who was only 19 years of age when he became her lover, returned to Canada.  Ted had written some short stories . He wanted to become a writer, and he made it even if Ernest Hemingway disliked his work . But that is another story.

Photo of Ted Allan.

Read the book written by Susana Fortes about the young Gerda Taro who died too young and who was the only girl Robert Capa wanted to marry.

The French author Andre Malraux took active part in the war too. Books written by him and books about him, should be read today. Here is my private collection. Ernest Hemingway wrote also about the war.

ROY ROGERS: AN ESSAY ON THE FORGOTTEN HERO AND HIS TIME

Lost and forgotten, the American singing cowboy, Roy Rogers? I don’t think so. Once a hero, always a hero . I have not forgotten him. But I must admit that I ask myself the question:Why? What is the main reason of  returning to the old hero in year 2014? Let me give you some facts about the man and the time of his life, and the international influence on boys during the boring fifties. The singing cowboy had it all: A fine horse, guns, nice cowboy boots and he was alway well dressed. Above all: He never lost any fight or conflict. He was the winner. We all knew that we could trust him. He never smoked and drank alcohol. He behaved well – too well sometimes. He was born Leonard Franklin Slye in year 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He passed away at the age of 86 in 1998. Roy Rogers was one of the most marketed and merchandised actor of his era. The name, Roy Rodgers, was to be found in films, comic books,wristwatches, boots, cowboy equipment and restaurants. How to get hold of  cowboy equipment made in United States? The Norwegian sailors were still active in the fifties. Gifts had to be bought to children waiting for the father to come home. In Norway it was impossible to buy any of the wanted cowboy stuff. My father who was a sailor, gave me all I asked for. The guns made to promote the fictional cowboy Roy Rogers were  wanted gifts. I got the guns. We played much cowboys and indians in those days. Roy Rogers was the man we all wanted to identify as a model. Toys were rare to find in shops in Norway till 1960. Sailors bought cars, dolls, guns, clothes as gifts for the children. The arrivals of sailors in the families were  an event like christmas. We loved it. Gifts to every member of the famliy. My sister had about 30 dolls made in foreign countries at a time when you could not get any dools like them in Oslo.

Roy Rogers had to make his way by hard working. His famliy was not rich. He had to leave  high  school at an age of 17 to support the family. He began to work in a shoe factory.

Franklin Slye wanted to make a career as singer. He moved to California to become a singer. He formed  a Western cowboy music group called: ” Sons of the Pioneers” . In 1935 he began appearing in films. The singing cowboy became a famous actor of the films of Roy Rogers. His horse, Trigger, and his dog, Bullet, and his wife Dale, appeared in about 100 movies.

We have to study the daily life in Norway during the time after the Second World War to understand why Roy Rogers movies were popular. The films were distributed all over the country even if the quality of the cinemas was not good. You could watch a Roy Rogers movie in the old buildings made for community meetings. Americans were popular in Norway in those days. Boys who were not interested in politics,were fascinated by the American airplanes which were given to the Norwegian Air Force in 1951.

We wanted to join the airforce to become pilots. Facts about the planes were easy to get. The British De Havilland DH-100 Vampire, the American planes, Republic F-86G Thunderjet, North American F-86 Sabre were evaluated and discussed by my friends. If you ask students today about airplanes, you get a negative answer. No interest even in the political issue of buying a new expensive airplane for the Norwegian Airforce. What to chose? An American made airplane or a Swedish airplane? The issue is not to be found on the top of the list of political matters among Norwegian sosialists today! Time has changed.

We loved America because of : Jeans, cowboys, rock’n roll music, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, James Dean, Coca Cola, Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers –above all: The actor Errol Flynn who portrayed Robin Hood in the movie : ” The Adventures of Robin Hood ”. Errol Flynn won the Second World War singel -handed in the film: ” Objective Burma ”. The winner of the Second World War was Hollywood.

Few information was given us about the fight on the Eastern front, the suffering of Soviet Union and reports about the Red Army. We were not informed that about 20 million Russians were killed during the war. No. What about the battle of Kursk in 1943? Never heard of the battle would be the answer you got from me and my friends. We had seen Errol Flynn in action, so don’t tell us about military history? United States of America was the winner of the war. Roy Rogers was a true hero riding a fine horse fighting criminals wherever he came. We never asked who washed his shirts or why he always was so well dressed. We believed that Max Manus and the inhabitants of Norway – everyone- fought for the King and the country. A lot of Norwegians did not believe in any victory for the King and his men i England. Take a look at the list of books published by those who fought for Adolf Hitler and a Norway without a democracy, and some fought the King of personal reasons too – and some where too young to know what the war was about? I recommend the reading of the following books: Egil Ulateig: Veien mot undergangen. Historien om norske frontkjemperne. 2002, Vegard Sæther: En av oss. Norske frontkjempere i krig og fred.2010, Harry A. Ellingsen: Regiment Norge. Historien om en frontkjemperenhet.2011, Odd Helge Brugrand: 16 år og Hitlers soldat. Historien om Ivar Skarlo, en norsk soldat på Østfronten.2010, Bjørn Lindstad: Den frivillige. En norsk frontkjemper forteller sin historie. 2010, Egil Ulateig: Fordømte engler. Norske kvinner på Østfronten. 2004, and Eirik Veum: De som falt. Nordmenn drept i tyske krigstjeneste.2009. (Sorry. The books are written in Norwegian).

But we few who loved  American jeans, music and movies did not know much about the forgotten history of the Norwegian people during the WWII. Besides, the Cold War was a war between the Western democracies and Russian dominated states in Europe. Joseph Stalin who died in 1953, was a hero to many Norwegian communists but I did not know many who were communists. The reeason is easy to understand. The political fight between the Labour Party and The Norwegian Communist Party started years before the German occupation of Norway in 1940. The fight went on even during the war. The fighting groups dominated by communists were not given an official recognition before years after the war.

Roy Rogers movies were shown all over the country for years. No films contenting the fight on the Eastern front were shown- as far as I can remember.

Roy Rogers is forgotten, but not lost. You will not find boys walking the streets wearing two guns made for the hero of the time anymore.No.

My neighbour during the fifties at the suburb called Lambertseter in Oslo, was working with distribution of the films of Roy Rogers. He took me and my friends free of charge to watch the films. We went to Jarlen Cinema in Oslo. Even a grown-up  man could find an interest for the nice, fictional cowboy in those days!  In year 2014 The Cold War is history. The influence of the Roy Rogers is also history. The Cold War is over, finished. Roy Rogers was again the winner.Do we need to approach the fictional, non drinking, non smoking, healthy cowboy in a new way in year 2014 without the agenda of The Cold War?