Heide Ute Niedringhaus is Anja Niedringhaus’ mother. She was born in Germany and had three daughters, Elke, Anja and Gide. “We have been always very close as a family, which was extremely important for Anja,” she says about her daughter. Niedringhaus is a retired teacher who worked in Holzminden, Germany for 32 years. Niedringhaus, or “Mutti” as Anja used to call her, is proud of Anja’s photography, saying that Anja’s pictures were always able to show the humanity of the subject beautifully, simultaneously displaying humanity’s cruelty.