Erich Salomon
The original candid photographer, he smuggled a camera into high-stakes political rooms to capture history without the stiff poses.
1886–1944 (age 58)·German photojournalist·Birthday: April 28·The Lost Generation
Biography
Erich Salomon didn't set out to be a photographer. Trained as a lawyer and engineer, he found his true calling in his forties with a new, small camera—the Ermanox. Its fast lens allowed him to work in dim light without a flash, a technical edge he turned into a revolutionary method. While other photographers staged formal portraits, Salomon became a visual spy, slipping into diplomatic conferences, courtrooms, and private dinners. He captured statesmen like Briand and Stresemann with their guards down, mid-conversation or slumped in thought, revealing the human drama behind the headlines. His work, published in magazines like the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, created the template for modern photojournalism: the intimate, behind-the-scenes story. A Jew forced to flee Nazi Germany, his life ended in Auschwitz. But his vision—that truth resided in the unguarded moment—forever changed how we see power.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Erich was born in 1886, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Erich Was Born
The biggest hits of 1886
Erich's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1886Born
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1891Started school
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Became a teenager
President: William McKinley
1902Could drive
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1904Could vote
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Turned 21
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1916Turned 30
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 40
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 50
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1944Died at 58
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
Key Achievements
- Pioneered candid photography of political and diplomatic events using the small, fast-lens Ermanox camera in the 1920s and 30s.
- Created an entirely new genre of intimate, behind-the-scenes photojournalism that revealed the human side of world leaders.
- His extensive photo essays for major European picture magazines set the standard for modern documentary storytelling.
- Was among the first photographers to consistently capture sound-sensitive events, like court proceedings, without disruption.
Did You Know?
He earned the nickname 'The King of the Indiscreet' from a French magazine for his ability to capture unposed moments.
Salomon held a doctorate in law from the University of Berlin before turning to photography.
He often posed as a diplomat or waiter to gain access to restricted events with his hidden camera.
Much of his archive was saved from the Nazis by a friend and is now held by the Berlinische Galerie museum.
“With my little camera, I slip through keyholes; it makes no noise at all.”
