SUSCHITZKY, Wolfgang

Background information

About the photographer, Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY (1912-2016)

Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY grew up in a family that was more connected to socialism than to its Jewish roots. His father is a co-founder of Anzengruber Verlag and the first social democratic bookstore in Vienna. Wolf Suschitzky received his photography training at the Höhere Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt. In 1934 he left Austria under the impression of Austrofascism. He first went to the Netherlands and a year later to London. Here, Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY works for magazines such as Picture Post, Illustration and Lilliput and connects with the British documentary film movement. After the outbreak of war, he was initially banned from working as an enemy foreigner. From 1942 he worked again as a cameraman and in 1944 he was involved in founding the DATA film cooperative. In the post-war period, Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY increasingly made short and feature films, including classics such as 'No Resting Place' (1951), 'Ulysses' (1967) and 'Get Carter' (1971). In addition to his cinematic work, there was also an extensive photographic work that shows Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY as a cool but never indifferent observer of social conditions. Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY died in London in 2016 at the age of 104.

Photo books by Wolfgang SUSCHITZKY

'Work' (2020)