With her photographs, Lee Miller created one of the most important documents of the so-called “zero hour” in Munich. Her war photographs show the American view of the end of the war in Europe. The photographer accompanied American soldiers from the landing in Normandy to the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp; she fearlessly shows the suffering and destruction of war. Technically, Lee’s U.S. Citizenship permitted her to travel to Europe as a correspondent, but no woman was permitted to be on the frontline. It was only through her tenacity that she went frontline and was able to assert herself in the male-dominated environment of the military and accompany the armed forces through war-torn Germany. 

The works by Lee Miller exhibited in the Amerikahaus are not limited to war photography. The well-connected artist was already active as a photographer before the war. She began her career in front of the camera as a model in New York. Shortly thereafter, she worked as a photographer, herself, in Paris, New York and, for a time, in Egypt. She worked for many years for British and American Vogue. 

The exhibition Lee Miller Photography at the Amerikahaus focuses on Lee Miller as an artist and shows works from her various creative phases.

Welcome Address: 

Dr. Meike Zwingenberger, Amerikahaus – Bavarian Center for Transatlantic Relations

NN, U.S. Consulate in Munich

Ami Bouhassane, Lee Miller Archives

Antony Penrose, Lee Miller Archives

Photo: Self portrait with headband, New York Studio, New York, USA c1932 by Lee Miller ©Lee Miller Archives England 2024. All rights reserved. www.leemiller.co.uk