The Snapshots in Time Collection

Woman at Maritime Monument, China (German Family Collection), c. 1938-1942

Woman at Maritime Monument, China (German Family Collection), c. 1938-1942

This photograph from a German family's personal China collection shows a young woman posing before an elaborate stone monument featuring a monumental carved anchor and sea-creature motif, likely located in a former European treaty port such as Qingdao or Shanghai. Her fashionable belted dress and sun hat reflect European civilian life in China during the years surrounding World War II, offering a personal counterpoint to the military photographs more commonly found in wartime archives. Project: 218358