China in WW2

A Photographer in Shanghai: Soldiers (Part 2)

• By Peter Harmsen
• 28 January, 2017
• 1 Comment

Nationalist soldier poses by sandbags, North Railway Station, Shanghai

One of the most prolific foreign photographers during the three-month battle for Shanghai in 1937 was American-born Malcolm Rosholt. Since he was a westerner, it was possible for him to cover both the Chinese and the Japanese side of the intense battle, and the result was some of the most dramatic images to emerge from the epic struggle.

This article reproduces a small selection of his huge output of photos. They are brought with the kind permission of Historical Photographs of China, a project based at the University of Bristol. All photos are courtesy of Historical Photographs of China, Mei-fei Elrick and Tess Johnson. Clicking on the captions will take you to the photos on the website of Historical Photographs of China.

Nationalist soldiers at road block, Shanghai

Nationalist soldier at barricade by Shell petrol station, Shanghai

Nationalist soldiers and dugout, Shanghai

Nationalist soldiers emerging from dugout, Shanghai

Nationalist soldiers and barricade, Shanghai

Nationalist soldier on duty at barricaded checkpoint, Shanghai

Nationalist soldier by dugout with photographer George Lacks, Shanghai

Same motif, slightly different angle

Nationalist soldiers at a checkpoint with press photographer George Lacks, Shanghai