Renate Winkler was born and grew up in Dresden. Willy Rössing, her father, died young in 1934, the year of her fifth birthday. On the night of 13 February 1945 the family home was completely destroyed by British and American bombing. Renate survived, buried for several days under the rubble: Margarete Winkler, her mother, died. For the rest of her life Renate's body carried the phosphorus scars from the skin burns she received that night. Following her rescue she got hold of an old basic camera from somewhere and set about photographing the bombscape that . Although her work was not overtly political, it was never any secret that throughout her adult life Renate Rössing-Winkler was a committed pacifist.