Hugo Bernatzik
Encyclopedia
Hugo Adolf Bernatzik was an Austria
n anthropologist and photographer.
Bernatzik was the founder of the concept of alternative anthropology.
in 1915. Later he abandoned his medical studies and began to travel carrying a cumbersome camera wherever he went. His first trip was to Spain
and the Maghreb
in 1924. With Prof. Bernhard Struck of the Dresden Museum of Ethnology
he travelled to Egypt
, Southern Sudan and Somalia
in 1927. After returning he studied ethnology
, geography
and psychology
in Vienna.
Over the span of his career Bernatzik undertook research in and photographed, amongst others, people and landscapes in certain areas of tropical Africa, like the Bissagos Islands
(1930–1931), as well as the Solomon Islands
(1932), New Guinea
and Bali
(1933), and Southeast Asia
(1936–1937).
He became a lecturer at the University of Graz
in 1939. During those years he was a member of the Nazi Party, a party he had joined even before the Anschluss
. After the war was over, Bernatzik travelled to Morocco
, Romania
, the Balkans
and Lappland. He had had a book published in 1937 called Lapland which was an enthological and geographical study of the area of Norway, Sweden and Finland inhabited by the Såpmi. It is significant that the Nazis used detailed knowledge and photographs of the areas taken immediately prior to the war in their invasion plans and indeed organised such trips to obtain detailed information before formulating those plans.
Bernatzik fell seriously ill in Morocco during what would be his last trip. With difficulty he returned to his home city, Vienna, where he died in 1953 at the age of fifty-six.
and by selling his photographs.
While most of his photographic subjects fall within what has been labelled, and often dismissed, as "ethnographic nudity", Bernatzik insisted that he documented the daily life of cultures that were in the process of dying owing to contact with the modern world.
Unfortunately most of his belongings, including a great number of his valuable original negatives, some of them never published, were destroyed by fire in Austria during the Second World War.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n anthropologist and photographer.
Bernatzik was the founder of the concept of alternative anthropology.
Biography
Benatzik was the son of a government lawyer in Vienna at the turn of the nineteenth century. During the First World War he enlisted in the Austro-Hungarian army at eighteen and went to fight to AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
in 1915. Later he abandoned his medical studies and began to travel carrying a cumbersome camera wherever he went. His first trip was to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
in 1924. With Prof. Bernhard Struck of the Dresden Museum of Ethnology
Museum of Ethnology Dresden
The Museum of Ethnology Dresden contains an ethnographic collection with more than 90,000 objects from all parts of the earth.The museum is housed in the Japanisches Palais, a Baroque building complex on the Elbe....
he travelled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Southern Sudan and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
in 1927. After returning he studied ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
in Vienna.
Over the span of his career Bernatzik undertook research in and photographed, amongst others, people and landscapes in certain areas of tropical Africa, like the Bissagos Islands
Bissagos Islands
The Bissagos Islands or Bijagós Archipelago are a group of 18 major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 2,624 km2 and a population of 30,000...
(1930–1931), as well as the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
(1932), New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
(1933), and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
(1936–1937).
He became a lecturer at the University of Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
in 1939. During those years he was a member of the Nazi Party, a party he had joined even before the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
. After the war was over, Bernatzik travelled to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Lappland. He had had a book published in 1937 called Lapland which was an enthological and geographical study of the area of Norway, Sweden and Finland inhabited by the Såpmi. It is significant that the Nazis used detailed knowledge and photographs of the areas taken immediately prior to the war in their invasion plans and indeed organised such trips to obtain detailed information before formulating those plans.
Bernatzik fell seriously ill in Morocco during what would be his last trip. With difficulty he returned to his home city, Vienna, where he died in 1953 at the age of fifty-six.
Photographic work
Bernatzik financed his journeys with journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and by selling his photographs.
While most of his photographic subjects fall within what has been labelled, and often dismissed, as "ethnographic nudity", Bernatzik insisted that he documented the daily life of cultures that were in the process of dying owing to contact with the modern world.
Unfortunately most of his belongings, including a great number of his valuable original negatives, some of them never published, were destroyed by fire in Austria during the Second World War.
Ethnographic works
- Zwischen weissem Nil und Belgisch-Kongo. L. W. Seidel & Sohn, Vienna 1929.
- Europas vergessenes Land. Mit 105 Abbildungen. L. W. Seidel & Sohn, Vienna 1930. [later editions under the title: Albanien. Das Land der Schkipetaren]
- Owa Raha. Büchergilde Gutenberg, Vienna / Zürich / Prague, 1936.
- Die Große Völkerkunde. Sitten, Gebräuche und Wesen fremder Völker. 3 Bde. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut 1939
- 1. Volume : Australien, Amerika (edited by Herbert Tischner and Walter Krickeberg)
- 2. Volume: Asien (edited by Robert Bleichsteiner, Hans Findeisen, Alexander Slawik, Hugo A. Bernatzik, Theo Körner and Hans Nevermann)
- 3. Volume: Europa, Afrika (edited by H.A. Bernatzik, Arthur Haberlandt, Richard Wolfram, Fritz Krüger, Robert Bleichsteiner, Walter Hirschberg, Dominik Josef Wölfel, Werner Vycichl, Hermann Baumann and Theo Körner).
- Die Geister der gelben Blätter: Forschungsreisen in Hinterindien. Koehler & Voigtländer, Leipzig 1942.(The Spirits of the Yellow Leaves, London: R. Hale. Translated by E. W. Dickson. 1958)
- Afrika. Handbuch der angewandten Völkerkunde. 2 Bde. Innsbruck: Schlüsselverlag, 1947
- Geheimnisvolle Inselntropen Afrikas: Frauenstaat und Mutterrecht der Bidyogo; ein Forschungsbericht 1933
- Die neue große Völkerkunde. Völker und Kulturen der Erde in Wort und Bild. Neue erweiterte Aufl. 3 Bde. Frankfurt: Herkul, (1954) Volume I: Europa, Afrika; Volume II: Asien, Australien; Volume III: Amerika. - Mitarbeiter: Hugo A. Bernatzik, R. Bleichsteiner, H. Findeisen, A. Haberlandt, W. Hirschberg, Th. Körner, F. Krüger, H. Manndorff, H. Nevermann, K. A. Nowotny, A. Slawik, K. Treimer, R. Wolfram.
- Bernatzik - South East Asia. Essays by Jacques Ivanoff. Photographs Hugo A. Bernatzik. Transl. from French Isabel Ollivier. Imago mundi. Bd 6. Five Continents Ed., Milan 2003. ISBN 88-7439-044-0
- Südsee; ein Reisebuch, first edition Leipzig 1934
- Akha and MiaoMiao peopleThe Miao or ม้ง ; ) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho Xiong...
: Problems of applied ethnography in farther India - Neue grosse Völkerkunde : Völker und Kulturen der Erde in Wort und Bild. Reedition 1968
- Overland with the nomad Lapps, by Hugo Adolf Bernatzik, 1938
- MokenMokenThe Moken , are an Austronesian ethnic group with about 2,000 to 3,000 members who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture. They speak their own language which belongs to the Austronesian language family.-Nomenclature:They refer to themselves as Moken...
and SemangSemangThe Semang are a Negrito ethnic group of the Malay Peninsula. Lowland Semang tribes are also known as Sakai, although this term is considered to be derogatory by the Semang people. They are probably the indigenous peoples of this area. They have been recorded to have lived here since before the...
: 1936-2004, Persistence and Change by Hugo Adolf Bernatzik and Jacques Ivanoff - LaplandLapland (region)Lapland is a region in northern Fennoscandia, largely within the Arctic Circle. It streches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula . On the North it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the West by the Norwegian Sea and on the East by the White Sea...
1938 - Gari-gari; The Call of the African Wilderness (translator: Ogilvie, Vivian) 1936
- The Dark Continent: Africa, The Landscape and the People - 1930