The Capa House is a building in the Lindenau quarter of Leipzig, Germany at Jahnallee 61. It is named after the American war reporter and photographer Robert Capa, and is the location where Capa took The Picture of the Last Man to Die of the United States army soldier Raymond J. Bowman, who was killed there two weeks before the end of the Second World War in Europe. The images became internationally known when they were published in Life magazine. [1]
The majority of the house has been empty since the late 1990s. [2] On New Year's Eve 2011/2012, part of it burned down and the demolition could only be stopped by a citizens' initiative. [3] The investor Horst Langner undertook the extensive preservation, which was completed in 2016. The Café Eigler was opened in December 2015. [4] To commemorate the events of 18 April 1945, an exhibition room in the café was opened on 17 April 2016. Lehman Riggs, an American veteran who was eyewitness to the death of his comrade Raymond Bowman, attended the renaming of the street on the corner of Jahnallee/Lützner Straße to Bowmanstraße. A commemorative plaque dedicated to Bowman was also unveiled. This plaque was based on a design by Harald Alff, [5] who was personally involved in the Capa House. On 18 April 2019, US Consul Emily Yasmin Norris commemorated the victims of World War II in front of the Capa House. At the same time, she recognized Lehman Riggs for fighting alongside Bowman on that balcony. [6] Lehman Riggs died at age 101 in 2021.
The new building complex around the Capa house is called Palmengarten-Palais after the renovation. [7] In September 2021, it was announced that Café Eigler [4] would close at the end of the month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]
On 1 July 2023 the Capa-House Memorial Site was reopened in the former Café Eigler as an exhibition, event and meeting place dedicated not only to Robert Capa, but also to his partner, the (war) photographer Gerda Taro. CAPA Culture gGmbH is responsible for events, projects and special exhibitions, and the Hentrich & Hentrich Publishing House for Jewish Culture and Contemporary History supports the Capa-House Memorial Site both professionally and personally. The Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig curates and develops the permanent exhibition area. The Capa-House initiative is a project partner. [9] [10]
The Capa House, built in 1909 to 1910 as a tenant house, is a listed building in the German Reform Architecture (Reformarchitektur ) style. [11] It was initially a "grand house" for the goldsmith Oskar Menzel jun. (Architect: F. Otto Gerstenberger). [12] It changed hands in 1914. The premises of the above-mentioned Café Eigler used to house the "Confectionery and Coffee House of the West", then the Anger-Tanzbar, and later the Handelsorganisation dance bar "Melody" during the time of the GDR. [13]
In the final days of World War II, American soldiers entered the building along with reporter Robert Capa. Capa took several photographs of the soldiers, including one which became known as The Picture of the Last Man to Die . [1]
Leipzig is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 624,689 inhabitants as of 2022 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as well as the second most populous city in the area of the former East Germany after (East) Berlin. Together with Halle (Saale), the city forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle Conurbation. Between the two cities lies Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Kursdorf is a ghost village in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany. The site is located near the state border with Saxony-Anhalt. Situated between the two runways of Leipzig/Halle Airport, the village has been described as the "loudest village in Germany." Its population has declined since the mid-20th century, to the point that since 2017, the village has had no inhabitants.
The Leipzig Book Fair Prize is a literary award assigned annually during the Leipzig Book Fair to outstanding newly released literary works in the categories "Fiction", "Non-fiction" and "Translation". The Leipzig Book Fair Prize has been awarded since the Deutscher Bücherpreis was ceased in 2005, and is one of the most important literary awards in Germany. The winner in each category is awarded €15,000.
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V., commonly known as RB Leipzig, Red Bull Leipzig, or simply Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bull GmbH, which purchased the playing rights of fifth-tier side SSV Markranstädt with the intent of advancing the new club to the top-flight Bundesliga within eight years. The men's professional football club is run by the spin-off organization RasenBallsport Leipzig GmbH. RB Leipzig plays its home matches at the Red Bull Arena. The club nickname is Die Roten Bullen.
Lindenau is a quarter of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is part of the Stadtbezirk (borough) Alt-West.
Dominik Kaiser is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
The Palmengarten is a park in Leipzig-Lindenau. It covers a surface of 22.5 hectares.
Richard-Wagner-Platz is a square in Leipzig in the northwest of Leipzig city centre within Leipzig's "ring road" on the northwest corner. The square is named after the composer Richard Wagner, whose house of birth was nearby.
The Bach Medal is awarded by the Lord Mayor of Leipzig during the Bachfest Leipzig in recognition of efforts to promote the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bach Medal of the City of Leipzig is an annual award.
The Picture of the Last Man to Die is a black and white photograph taken by Robert Capa during the battle for Leipzig, depicting an American soldier, Raymond J. Bowman, aged 21 years old, after being killed by a German sniper, on 18 April 1945, shortly before the end of World War II in Europe. Germany would surrender two weeks later following the Battle of Berlin.
Jürgen Möller is a German former officer, and a military historian, focused on the exploration of the end of World War II in Germany in 1944/45, especially the American occupation of Central Germany.
Robert Hans Friedrich Köbler was a German organist, pianist, composer and professor at the University of Leipzig.
Stefan Altner is a German musician, musicologist and cultural manager.
Stephan König is a German composer, pianist and conductor. He is the musical director of the "LeipJAZZig-Orkester" and the chamber orchestra "artentfaltung" and is considered one of the most authoritative Jazz musicians in Leipzig.
Felix Rudolf Skoda was a German architect and academic teacher. He was chief architect for the Neue Gewandhaus in Leipzig.
Raymund Brachmann was a German architect, who created several highly regarded buildings of Jugendstil and reform architecture in Leipzig between 1900 and the First World War.
The Musikalische Komödie is an operettas and musicals theatre in Leipzig. Its venue is located in the Lindenau district in the Haus Dreilinden, which is often referred to as the "Musical Comedy" itself. It is one of the three sections of the Oper Leipzig. However, it has its own ensemble with soloists, choir, ballet company and orchestra. Because of this and its own venue, it is perceived by the public as an independent cultural institution. Its repertoire ranges from Spieloper to operetta and musicals.
Pizza Lab is a non-profit vegan restaurant in Leipzig that was founded in 2016. It is entirely run by a team of volunteers from all over the world and the surplus is donated to local charities that focus on sustainability, environmental protection, animal warfare, and good neighborliness. The location in which Pizza Lab operates used to be a meat distribution centre, according to a permit issued in 1939.
The Serbski dom is an administrative building on Postplatz 2 in Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is the cultural and political center of the Sorbian people. It was built between 1947 and 1956. It is the seat of Domowina and the Foundation for the Sorbian People.
The Zeppelin Bridge is a road and tram bridge over the Elster basin in Leipzig. It connects the districts of Mitte and Altwest. It is under monument protection.
LIFE Photographer Robert Capa, who went into the building with the heavy-machines platoon, took the picture at top, opposite page. Then one soldier (left in picture) went inside and the other manned the smoking gun alone. While absorbed in reloading it, a German sniper's bullet from the street pierced his forehead.
Die Stiftung. Das Capa-Haus und seine Geschichte. (The Foundation. The Capa house and its history.)
Das Café Eigler im Capahaus gehört zu einem der schönsten und traditionsreichsten Cafés in Leipzig.
