World War One was called “The War to End All Wars” because of how many people died. Most people thought that this would make everyone realize that war should never happen, but this was not the case. World War Two started only twenty years after the end of World War One and was the most destructive war in human history. Over sixty million people died because of one man’s ambition (The National WWII Museum). This photo was taken by Yevgeny Khaldei. It shows Berlin in the last few weeks of the war in Europe and it also shows how destructive humanity is through the use of contrast, foreground versus background, and symbols.

Contrast is used to show the destructive nature of humans. The building that these two men are standing on has beautiful architecture and statues. The picture shows that humans are capable of doing great things during peace. In contrast, the city is in ruins and there are debris everywhere. This shows that we are capable of a great amount of destruction too. The Soviet soldier in the bottom right has two wristwatches on, indicating that he was looting. This shows that war not only destroys cities, but it also destroys our humanity. I think these two wristwatches are used to contrast the desires of people too. On the right arm, which is normally considered the dominant one, is a wristwatch that represents the will to persevere through hardship just as the soldiers here did. The wristwatch on the left arm, which is considered the inferior arm. Khaldei his to show how all of us can change to prevent further destruction, like in World War Two, from happening again. 

The destructiveness of humanity is shown using the foreground and the background of the picture. In the foreground, there are lots of debris. This represents the destruction of World War 2. The foreground takes up much less of the photo than the background this is used to show that all of the destruction in World War 2 is less than what can happen if another large war were to break out. The background shows the city of Berlin being destroyed by the Soviets and it takes up much more of the photograph. This represents the destruction that can happen if humans were to have another huge war like World War Two. The millions dead of World War Two will look like nothing because life, as we know it, can be wiped out with a single push of a button. Khaldei uses his picture to bring awareness to this fact.

The symbols in Khaldei’s photo the complete and total destruction that we are capable of. The Soviet flag being raised by the soldier is probably seen, first, as a symbol of victory over the Germans, but the second thought that comes to mind is that it represents the complete and total destruction of anyone that opposes it. The soldier who is setting the flag up is a symbol that represents how people are the ones who uphold this destruction against others. These people being anyone who has power in a totalitarian form of government. The two statues that are still standing are used to symbolize hope. They are still standing even after the continuous bombing from the allies. If these statues can still stand throughout the destruction, then humans can too.

World War Two, with all of its destruction, had one use, and that was to show people thatwar is and awful thing and should be avoided as much as possible. If people do not learn this, humankind could be wiped out with all of our nuclear weapons that we have developed since the end of World War Two. Yevgeny Khaldei’s picture serves as his way of showing the world what we are all capable of and that there is still hope that we can change. He does this through the use of contrast, foreground versus background, and the use of symbols.
