Wolfgang Kunz's Photographic Collection – Lebanon – 1985

Armenier – Woher/Wohin [Armenians – Whence/Whither]. This was the title of Wolfgang Kunz’s photo book, which he authored in 1985-1986. The renowned photographer traveled to Soviet Armenia in 1983 and again in 1985; then visited Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Soviet Armenia again, taking hundreds of photographs in numerous cities and locales.

The connection between Wolfgang Kunz and Armenians (and their history) was forged in the 1970s, when during a holiday in Tbilisi, Kunz spent a few days in Soviet Armenia. In 1984, he traveled to Turkey to work on an article about Armenians for the German periodical GEO. Kunz was only the photographer for this article, which was written by someone else. When this article appeared in the February-March 1986 issue of GEO, it created an uproar in the German-Armenian community, as the author had promoted the Turkish government’s denialist arguments about the Armenian Genocide. The Armenians of Hamburg – the city in which Kunz lived and worked at the time – organized a small demonstration against the writer of the article. This prompted Kunz to investigate Armenians and their history more closely. Later, the French version of GEO published a different article on Armenians, written by Claude Mutafian but still using Kunz’s photographs. This time, Armenians had no reason to protest. On the contrary, this second article was a victory against the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

In November or December 1984, in Hamburg, Kunz met the Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, Karekin II Sarkissian (1932-1999), who was in Germany on an official visit. The Catholicos suggested that Kunz visit Lebanon and Syria the following April, to better acquaint himself with Armenians and to personally attend commemorations of the Genocide. The prospect appealed to Kunz. That same year, in Hamburg, he met shoe manufacturer and trader Gerard Barsoumian, a Lebanese-Armenian who had traveled to Hamburg to purchase a tachometer for his Porsche car. Barsoumian, too, encouraged the photographer to visit Lebanon, and even expressed a willingness to help with this plan.

On April 18, 1985, Kunz traveled from the airport of Berlin to Beirut aboard an East German Interflug airplane, at a time when Lebanon was still in the throes of its civil war. During this same trip, Kunz also visited Syria.

Once all the photographs for the book were ready, Kunz began working on the preparation of the various chapters. In this process, he collaborated with German academic Tessa Hofmann. Kunz divided his book into three chapters – Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria. To supplement these sections, Tessa Hofmann wrote chapters on the history of the Armenian Genocide and of Soviet Armenia. The Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias expressed a desire to translate the book from German into English and to participate in the publication process.

The central theme of the book was the Armenian Genocide. Only one of the chapters, written by Tessa Hofmann, directly presented the history of the Genocide. The other chapters, especially those concerning the photographer’s journey through Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey, were more akin to a travel chronicle at first glance. But in reality, the Genocide of 1915 was a constant presence even in those sections of the book. Kunz endeavored to examine Armenian community life via the lens of the Genocide and of the memory thereof.

It is no coincidence that his visit to Syria and Lebanon in 1985 took place in the month of April. On the 24th of that same month, Armenian communities commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Genocide. In Syria, Kunz visited Deir ez-Zor, where the foundations of an Armenians church were being laid. The book is rich with the testimonies of Genocide survivors. Kunz’s journey also coincided with attacks on Turkish targets across Europe by armed Armenian organizations. Kunz was absorbed by the lives and history of Armenians. In his writing, we see that he felt the same pain, joy, pride, sorrow, and rebellion that an Armenian would feel. He expressed himself just as an Armenian from the 1980s would. It is as if he had been adopted by the Armenian nation, and had himself adopted the Armenian nation as his own.

Given this warm relationship with the Armenian community, one would assume that Kunz’s book project would proceed smoothly and conclude successfully. Unfortunately, this was not the case. In Kunz’s archives there is correspondence involving multiple individuals, which shows that at the initial stages, efforts to publish the book proceeded smoothly, but eventually, progress stalled, and the book was never published. The main correspondents were author/photographer Kunz, the chancellor of the Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, and the New York Prelacy of the Holy See of Cilicia. On the instructions of Catholicos Karekin II, the New York Prelacy was tasked with translating the book into English. Michael Papazian translated the entire book, as well as the captions of all photographs, from German into English. The book consisted of 220 pages and contained 228 photographs. After reading the English translation of the book, Catholicos Karekin II, via the chancellor of the Catholicosate, expressed certain reservations on some of the sections of text, suggesting that they be removed or edited. Kunz agreed. The correspondence leaves the impression that the book was to be published in both Germany and the United States, and that the Catholicosate was willing to assist with the costs of publication.

This correspondence dates from 1986 to 1991. During this time, Leninakan (Gyumri) experienced a catastrophic earthquake, popular protests erupted in Yerevan, and the crisis of Nagorno Karabakh began. We presume that it was due to these upheavals in both Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora that Kunz’s book was first neglected, then forgotten.

In 2024, in view of his advanced age, Wolfgang Kunz decided to donate his rich photographic collection – including his photographs on Armenian themes – to the Berlin Public Library (bpk Fotoarchiv, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz). One of this institution’s employees and a friend of Houshamadyan, Meliné Pehlivanian, suggested that Kunz publish some of his photographs of Armenian life on the pages of our website. Kunz agreed, and thus began our collaboration with the renowned photographer.

Wolfgang Kunz arrived in Lebanon on 18 April 1985, at approximately 6:30 in the morning. He traveled to Lebanon from Berlin (eastern) on a plane operated by the Interflug airline. At the time, Lebanon was in an unstable and dangerous state of conflict, characterized by frequent clashes between armed groups.

At the time of Kunz’s arrival, Beirut (western) was witnessing ongoing armed clashes. For this reason, the Antilias Catholicosate suggested that Kunz delay his visit. But Kunz was determined to arrive as scheduled. Gerard Barsoumian (owner of the Souliers Gérard shoe factory and retail shop) had previously informed Kunz by telex that he would send his driver to Beirut airport to pick up Kunz and bring him to the Barsoumian home. Kunz did not want to inconvenience his friend in the early hours of the morning, and so wrote a telex from Hamburg that he would simply take a taxi to the Barsoumians’ home in Achrafieh, Eastern Beirut. We do not know other details, but on April 18, Barsoumian’s driver was at the airport, but somehow, Kunz missed him and instead took a taxi to Achrafieh. At the end of the ride, the driver asked for an exorbitant fare from the photographer…

From the moment of his arrival, and throughout his sojourn in Lebanon, Kunz’s experiences in the country were either extremely positive or extremely negative.

Kunz rented a room costing 50 German marks per day at the Golden Beach Resort, located immediately across the highway from the Antilias Catholicosate. This choice wasn’t accidental. Kunz had come to Lebanon on the invitation of Catholicos Karekin II Sarkissian, to attend the principal events in Lebanon and Syria commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. His goal was to take photographs that he would include in his upcoming album/book on Armenians. He had previously visited Turkey and Soviet Armenia, and already had a rich collection of photographs on Armenian topics.

If the focus of Kunz’s visit to Lebanon and Syria was the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the principal figure of his trip was, undoubtedly, Catholicos Karekin II (Later, he became Catholicos Karekin I of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin). The German photographer was deeply impressed by a conversation he had with His Holiness in November 1984, in Hamburg. And throughout Kunz’s visit to Lebanon and Syria, he remained in awe of the Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia. In his diary, Kunz wrote that he was impressed with Karekin II’s simplicity and forthcoming nature, as well as his aptitude as the leader of a large religious institution. Kunz enjoyed the Catholicos’s witty jokes, especially those about his own delicate health. Kunz wrote that the Catholicos was recovering from a recent heart attack, for which reason he had to follow a special diet. Karekin II had joked about this: “I was able to coax out of my doctor permission to take a nap in the afternoons, drink a cup of whiskey per day, and smoke three cigars per week.” On another occasion, Kunz and Karekin II were in an elevator that was taking them to the apartment of the then-chancellor of the catholicosate, who had invited them to dine with him. The apartment was on one of the upper floors of a tall building. As they were ascending, the Catholicos joked: “My chancellor is closer to Paradise than I am!”

The photographs that Kunz took in the first few days after his arrival focused on the Antilias Catholicosate and the buildings that belonged to the Holy See of Cilicia. Kunz photographed the medieval treasures and manuscripts that had been brought to the catholicosate from Cilicia, visited the seminary of Bikfaya, visited the Birds’ Nest Armenian orphanage in Jbeil/Byblos, and photographed a meeting that took place inside the catholicosate. Sunday, April 21, 1985, was an eventful day. In the morning, Kunz attended Divine Liturgy inside the Saint Krikor Lousavorich (Gregory the Illuminator) Mother Cathedral. He then photographed the mausoleum-memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide. That same afternoon, he photographed a wedding ceremony at the cathedral. In the evening, when he was already back at the Golden Beach resort, fighting erupted nearby. In his diary, he wrote: “From my balcony, I watched this armed clash unfold…”

On the morning of April 22, Kunz visited the area of Fanar, where he met with the students of the upper classes at the national (parochial) Khanamirian School. He then photographed the public housing project in Fanar called Leylavan. In the afternoon, he visited Bourj Hammoud, where he met with and interviewed survivors of the genocide who were residents of the Armenian nursing home.

On the morning of the following day (April 23), an incident occurred that shocked the Lebanese-Armenian community. Near the Bourj Hammoud stadium, unknown individuals assassinated one of the leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in Lebanon, Sarkis Aznavourian. Kunz’s diary does not contain any references to this event, but later, after his return to Germany, he asked for (and received) additional information on this assassination from one of his Lebanese-Armenian acquaintances. On April 23, Kunz visited the Karantina district of Beirut, which once housed the Armenian refugee camp of the city. Unfortunately, his collection does not include any photographs of Karantina. He then visited the carpet store of Hagop Topakian in Bourj Hammoud. Hagop’s wife, Gerda, was German. Kunz later corresponded with her. Gerda demonstrably did what she could to help with the publication of his album/book. Hagop’s father, Parounag Topakian, was born in Gesaria (Kayseri). He told Kunz how he, his brother, and mother had survived the genocide. In the afternoon, at the Armenian Catholic Mesrobian School in Bourj Hammoud, there was a gathering of the students of the upper classes of Armenian schools, during which the Turkish flag was burned. That evening, Kunz photographed the wake held in the courtyard of the Bikfaiya Seminary to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the genocide, then a student/youth wake at the Antilias Catholicosate.

On the morning of April 24, Kunz attended the church service at the mother cathedral of the catholicosate. After the service, Catholicos Karekin II addressed the crowd gathered outside the Saint Sdepanos Mausoleum-Memorial dedicated to the victims of the genocide.

On the same day, in the afternoon, the main popular commemoration event of the anniversary of the genocide took place at the Bourj Hammoud Municipal Stadium. Armenian newspapers wrote that 20,000 Armenians attended this event. In his diary, Kunz puts the number of attendees at 30,000. The German documentary photographer was evidently impressed by the event, and was moved by the speech (in Armenian) delivered by Catholicos Karekin II. Clearly, the speech, or at least parts of it, were translated for Kunz on the spot, as he includes full quotes from it in his diary, in German. Moreover, Kunz had a copy of the full speech, in Armenian, in his personal files. This typed version may in fact have been the copy used by the Catholicos on that day, as its features notes made probably by the author himself (this speech was published in the Hask monthly periodical, number 4-5, April-May 1985, pp. 117-124).

The following day, Kunz left the Lebanese coast on a taxi and headed for the Armenian village of Anjar in the Bekaa Valley. To get there, he had to cross the Lebanese mountains and get through the many Syrian checkpoints along the way. The Syrian army had a major presence in Anjar, which housed the headquarters of the Syrian intelligence services in Lebanon. In his diary, Kunz wrote that sometimes, Syrian soldiers would interfere with his work of photographing the village, its surroundings, and the people’s daily life. Nevertheless, the photographer’s archive is rich with photographs from Anjar. Particularly notable are the group photographs he took of elderly Armenians who had survived and witnessed the 1915 battle of Musa Dagh.

On April 27, Kunz traveled to Syria. He returned to Lebanon via Tripoli on May 13, and once again rented a room at the Golden Beach resort in Antilias. The next day, he visited the Barsoumian family’s factory in Bourj Hammoud and learned from Gerard Barsoumian that during the fighting of the previous days, three shells had struck the Barsoumians’ home in Achrafieh. Later that day, Kunz visited the national (parochial) Torkomian School in the Hayashen neighborhood of Achrafieh.

The Antilias Catholicosate secured Kunz’s ticket for his flight home. But he still had to reach the airport, which, in those days in Beirut, was an adventure in and of itself, as he had to cross the boundaries that separated the warring factions within the capital. His friendship with Gerard Barsoumian once again came to his aid. The latter had a branch of his shoe-selling business in the Hamra district of Western Beirut. The day before Kunz’s scheduled departure, the Barsoumians’ driver would be transporting shoes to this branch. Kunz accompanied this driver to Hamra. On May 15, Kunz wrote in his diary that there was only one relatively safe road to cross into Western Beirut. Along the way, gunshots were heard several times, but the car, along with Kunz, safely arrived in Hamra.

In Western Beirut, Kunz spent the night at the Marble Tower Hotel, and on the next day (May 16), reached the airport of Beirut. There, he found a huge crowd of waiting travelers, so much so that he thought it would be impossible to make his way through them and reach his gate. But once again, fortune favored him. Finally, he took his seat in the Interflug flight to Germany (probably Berlin). On the same day, at 10:00 p.m., he arrived home in Hamburg.

Wolfgang Kunz was born in Augsburg, in 1942. He was the third child of artist Karl Kunz and historian Ilse Kunz. On February 25, 1944, during the bombing of Augsburg, the family home was destroyed, alongside most of Karl Kunz’s paintings. After this catastrophe, Wolfgang’s mother began working as a teacher and became the family’s breadwinner, which allowed Karl to continue working as a freelance artist.

In 1953, the family moved to Weilburg (in Hessen). There, in 1959, Wolfgang Kunz completed his secondary education. In 1960, he moved to the city of Frankfurt, where he lived with his father, who had been renting a studio in this city since 1957. Wolfgang wished to become a typographer, and he began studying typesetting. It was during these years that he began attending night classes at the Frankfurt Städelschule, where he learned how to draw nudes and still lives. It was also around this time that he began taking pictures with a camera that he had purchased. Wolfgang Kunz became immediately enamored with this camera.

Photography had entered the life of Wolfgang Kunz. He converted his room, next to his father’s studio, into a photographic dark room, with facilities only for sleeping. He completed a three-year apprenticeship in typesetting but remained enamored with photography. He hitchhiked his way to Paris, Brittany, then Ireland, where he eagerly practiced photography. He was inspired by the photo book Subjective 2 by Otto Steinert. In 1963, Kunz was accepted into the Folkwangschule (university) of the city of Essen, where Steinert lectured. But Kunz was convinced that he had to forge his own way, and thus postponed his enrollment at the university by a year. Art critic Hanno Reuter recognized Kunz’s talent, wrote about him, and paved the way for his photographs to be published in the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.

In 1965, Kunz had the fortune of meeting celebrated photographer Thomas Höpker. For a while, Kunz worked in Höpker’s dark room and closely studied the professional photographer’s works.

In 1966, Kunz bought a Leica camera, secured a grant to travel to London, and spent a whole year photographing the revolutionary youth culture of the British capital (Swinging London). After returning to Hamburg, he joined the editorial team of the Stern photographic periodical. After working for Stern for three years, he began working for the Zeit periodical. Ultimately, he preferred working as a freelancer and refrained from accepting permanent positions. With his camera, he traveled to various corners of the globe from Hamburg. He often photographed locations in crisis, such as North and South Vietnam, Northern Ireland, and Namibia; in addition to Turkey, Soviet Armenia, Lebanon, and Syria.

In 1983, with 14 partners, Wolfgang Kunz founded the Bilderberg photographic agency in Hamburg. After the reunification of Germany, from 1995 to 1999, he taught photography at the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin. Since then, he has lived in Berlin.