Early Life and the Shadow of War Vera Isler-Leiner’s life was indelibly marked by the tumultuous events of the 20th century, a shadow cast long before she picked up a camera. Born in Berlin in 1931 to Heinz Leiner, a Polish father, and Louise Leiner-Reichmann, a Hungarian mother, her early childhood was abruptly disrupted by the rising tide of Nazi persecution. In 1936, recognizing the imminent danger, her parents made the agonizing d…