I was fortunate to be able to visit a second exhibition whilst we were at Tate Britain.
Lee Miller was a successful American model in the 1920s, used to being in front of the camera. However, in later years she took up photography herself and became known for her surrealistic images. During WW2 she was the chief war photographer for Vogue magazine, and some of the subject matter she photographed, particularly around the time of the liberation of the concentration camps would haunt her for the rest of her life.
The image with this TFTD is entitled “Hotline to God” and was taken in Strasbourg 1945.
How do you interpret this image?
There are wires seemingly tangled up, but with some going straight up out of the top of the photograph, unusual for telephone wires.
Thinking about the context of the image, 1945. Strasbourg had been occupied early in the war in 1940. Being so close to Germany, the population was subject to strict Germanisation, with deportation of Jews and suppression of the French language. This continued until the sudden liberation of Strasbourg in November 1944 by American troops.
There must have been so many people wanting, desperate for a “hotline to God.”
Many might have felt they were unable to get through to God, their calls were going unanswered, tangled in the rub le and destruction around them.
We are fortunate that we do have a “hotline to God” that is always open, we may not use it, we may not hear the reply, but God is always there.
Prayer: Lord, we pray for countries around the world affected by war, even today, where people are desperate, cold, and weary. We all long for peace and call out to you, that the people who can bring an end to war will continue to work towards peace and that the lines of communication between people will transmit words of peace and love, and not cries of hate and anger. Amen