A comparison of photographs in four German magazines published from 1926 to 1933 with photographs appearing in "Fortune" and "Life" from 1930 to 1938 reveals specific patterns and techniques by German photographers, who later emigrated to the United States, that served as models for "Life" and for subsequent American magazines. The analysis of this evolution of the photo essay consisted of identifying the form or layout used (photomontages, regular features, single picture pages, multiple page series photographs, and use of graphic elements), and the styles of individual photographers (based on credit lines under photographs). The cosmopolitan tendencies of the Weimar years in Germany and the political upheaval prior to World War II helped to create a new context for the flow of photographers, picture editors, picture agencies, and ideas about the form and content of contemporary photojournalism across national boundaries. German photographers coming to the United States found that they could adapt their styles to the evolving patterns of American photojournalism, and their work contributed to the development of the photo essay in the United States. But the form, content, and social practice of photojournalism that evolved in Germany in the 1920s was recast after 1933 into ideological themes more appropriate to the American cultural context. (RL)