Charisiadēs, D. A. (Dēmētrēs A.) (1911-1993)

Dēmētrēs A. Charisiadēs (1911-1993) was born in Kavala, Greece. After studying chemistry as a young man in Lausanne, Switzerland, he developed an interest in photography from foreign periodicals and books. He began working as a photographer documenting the lives of soldiers while serving as a reserve officer on the Albanian front during WWII. Afterwards he was transferred to Athens, where he photographed Greek life during the Axis Occupation, the Dekemvriana clashes in Athens in 1944-1945, and the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s as a European press correspondent. After liberation, foreign relief agencies and the Ministry of Reconstruction commissioned Charisiadēs to document the arrival and distribution of American aid, public works projects, and post-war economic recovery in Greece. Charisiadēs was also active in commercial photography, where he focused on industry, architecture, and advertising, both running the photographic agency "D. A. Harissiadis" in partnership with Dionysis Tamaressis from 1956-1985 and working as a photographer for the National Theatre of Greece. Always interested in documenting everyday life and culture in small towns and cities, Charisiadēs continued to produce and exhibit work throughout his life, including his photographs of 1950s Israel that appeared in Exodus Revisited.