Robert Capa: The Man Who Lives To Take Photographs This is the short description of the British magazine

Picture Post of this Hungarian combat photographer. He was the man who gave a distinctive touch to wartime photojournalism. Robert Capa has indelibly marked the history of Photography by his indefatigable first-hand coverage of the five historic wars, to wit: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Second World War across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War. Robert Capa was born at Budapest, Hungary on October 22, 1913. His real name was Endre Ern Friedmann. His parents were Dezs Friedmann and Jlia Friedmann. In 1933, he started adopting the name of Robert Capa to sound Americanized. It was a unique way to introduce himself and to sell his photos with the connivance of Gerda Pohorylle, a German Jewish refugee who became his girlfriend. Besides, it was a way of metamorphosing his identity since he was once jailed by the repressive regime of Mikls Horthy. Photography was not his first love but writing. But while in Berlin he fell in love with the former since it was the work he found there. From 1936 to 1939, with Gerda Pohorylle who also took the name of Gerda Taro and David Seymour, Capa was covering the horrible Spanish Civil War. In 1938, he went to Wuhan (formerly named as Hankow) documenting the resistance to the Japanese invasion. Known for his action-in-the-battlefield exposures, Capas controversial "Falling Soldier" photo became an issue in 1936. And the dispute still continues whether it was authentic or staged. Presumably, many of his Spanish Civil War photos were lost. Apparently some were preserved through his darkroom manager, Hungarian photographer Imre Weisz. However, it was unclear how did these photos were placed inside three suitcases and were bequeathed to a Mexican filmmaker from his aunt. All of these however were moved to the Capa estate in January 2008. During World War II Capa first photographed for Collier's Weekly, then transferred to Life because he was fired by the former. Important photos of him during these months were: August 4-5, 1943 illustrating Sicilian population's suffering under German attacks and the contrasting happy faces of Americans in their arrival. On October 7, 1943, Capa captured scenes of the Naples post office bombing. Robert Capas most renowned work took place on the D-day (June 6, 1944); armed with two Contax II cameras with 50 mm lenses he immersed himself in the battle scene and amazingly seized astounding moments from that terrible war better appreciated when seen than narrated. In 1947, Capa traveled to Soviet Union withvhis writer friend John Steinbeck. He took photos from significant locations including the ruins of Stalingrad. A Russian Journal was illustrated with his photos in 1948. He founded the operative venture Magnum Photos along with others in 1947. He became its president in 1951. It was in the early 1950s when travelling to Japan for an exhibition associated with Magnum Photos that he composed the last scenes of his successful career. While there, Life magazine asked him to cover the First Indochina War. A brave man who stood by his mission and died till the end. even with his camera in his hands: Robert Capa.