| 12-06-2009 Photo Collection Humanity in War: from the mid-19th century to the conflicts of today A selection of photos from the book Humanity in War. These images illustrate the history of armed conflict from the second half of the 19th century to the present. They bear witness not only to the brutality of war and the suffering inflicted on combatants and civilians but also to the efforts that have been made to relieve this suffering. The photos are accompanied by an extract from the introduction to the book, written by photographer James Nachtwey.
© ICRC / hist-01389-34
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American Civil War, 1861-1865.
“It’s been said that one picture is worth a thousand words. For a photographer, the saying can be reversed: one word is sometimes worth a thousand pictures. “Genocide”, “famine”, “war”, “epidemic”: words like these have brought about the creation of the ICRC and dozens of other humanitarian organizations, have inspired photographers to take risks and endure hardships.
Although it has not always been regarded like this, the fact is that documentary photography and humanitarian work exist symbiotically: one of the
primary functions of photography is to complement and support the work of humanitarian agencies.” The comments accompanying this series of photos are by the photographer James Nachtwey and are taken from the introduction to Humanity in war: frontline photography since 1860
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