[Leica] A daily photo project (Slobodan Dimitrov)

[pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein)]

From: Slobodan Dimitrov <s.dimitrov@charter.net> wrote:

> Well, actually he identifies himself as a Croat. Although I'm of the
> opinion that he's a slavonized Italian, or ?. Probably from an earlier
> era when families changed identities, and moved to the marches, to
> escape to tax man, or ignoble family histories.

Slobodan:  Great site, thanks for posting it.  I spent much of yesterday
evening going over his pictures.  Interesting how he has photographed in
several genres, including documentary, fashion, and recently, digital
imaging and creative Photoshopping.  Sounds like a guy I'd love to spend a
few hours with in cafe swapping stories.  Interesting also how he was a
student of HCB, but did things his own way just the same.

I did a search on him to find out more about his life.  His parents were
Hungarian Jews named Edelstein.  He was born in what was then Croatia and
is now Italy, and spent his very early years in those countries. The
family fled to Switzerland during WWII. He spent much time in Italy and
France, the latter being his adopted home.

I couldn't find any information on when and why his surname changed from
Edelstein to Horvat.  I suspect it was for one of the the usual reasons--a
Jewish last name could get you killed in Europe in the 30s through
mid-40s, and could be hazardous to your career before and after that
period.  Perhaps he followed Robert Capa's example, or perhaps his parents
changed their name in the course of running from the Nazis.

--Peter