The Way I See It

A powerful memoir of an extraordinary life behind the lens, chronicling apartheid South Africa and beyond. Jürgen Schadeberg's iconic photographs are etched into history: Nelson Mandela gazing through the bars of his Robben Island cell; a young Miriam Makeba dancing; Hugh Masekela receiving a trumpet from Louis Armstrong; the Women's March of 1955; the Sophiatown removals; the Sharpeville massacre victims' funeral. But the story of the man behind the camera is no less remarkable. Schadeberg's empathy for the persecuted was deeply rooted by the time he arrived in South Africa from Germany in 1950 to capture history for Drum magazine. This evocative memoir, which won the South African Literary Awards Creative Non-Fiction Award, spans over 50 years across Europe, Africa, and the United States. From witnessing the repressive Nazi regime and Allied bombings as a child in Berlin to fending for himself in devastated post-war Germany, Schadeberg's resilience shines through. Tragically, Schadeberg passed away on 29 August 2020, but his visual storytelling legacy lives on in The Way I See It. He arrived at Johannesburg train station on a cold winter’s morning. He had a piece of paper with his mother’s address on it, his worldly possessions in a small, cheap suitcase on the platform beside him, and his Leica camera, as always, around his neck.