Walter A. Rosenblum (1919–2006) was an American photographer. He photographed the World War II D-Day landing at Normandy in 1944. He was the first Allied photographer to enter the liberated Dachau concentration camp.[1] He received several military decorations including a Purple Heart. His photography is on display in museums around the world.[2]
Rosenblum was born on October 1, 1919, in New York City.
Rosenblum was a member of the New York Photo League where he was mentored by Paul Strand and Lewis Hine.[3] He became president of the League in 1941.[4] He taught photography at Brooklyn College for 40 years.
During the McCarthy years, he and the rest of the members of the New York Photo League were blacklisted.
From 1952 to 1976, he spent summers in Norfolk, CT, as a professor at the Yale Summer School of Music and Art, where he taught photography.
His wife was photographic historian Naomi Rosenblum. They had two daughters, Lisa and documentary filmmaker Nina.[5]
Rosenblum died January 23, 2006.[6]
| U.S. military decorations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Decoration | Notes | Refs. | |
| Silver Star | ||||
| Bronze Star | ||||
| Purple Heart | ||||
| Presidential Unit Citation | ||||
Walter and Naomi Rosenblum Collection of Photography and Photographic History, Fales Library and Special Collections at New York University Special Collections