..October 2017.. ..Dresden..
“We went down to the cellar with a candle” -Günther Kannegießer
This morning I received the sad news that Günther Kannegießer passed away at the age of 87. Mr. Kannegießer was one of the first war survivors I photographed from Dresden.
He became a good friend and I’ll miss him. I can’t thank him enough for his honesty.
He taught me a lot about Dresden, not only about the firebombings that destroyed the city. He emphasized the years prior and brought me to places like the former location of Hellerberg Camp which was a labor camp in Dresden where Jewish families were forced to live prior to being deported. It was places like this which have been swept over by the waves of time and a blind eye to the ugliness of history that Mr. Kannegießer emphasized.
I don’t know many who handled a tough life as he did. Günther was 14 years old at the time of the fire bombings and lost his mother and siblings. The experience he had was brutal but he never let that stop his passion for seeing benevolence in people.
He found ways to endure situations no one should ever experience. I grew as a person because of our friendship. You will always be missed.
Tags: Dresden, Dresden firebombings February 13 1945, From Above, Gunther Kannegiesser