 Ramba uchiverenga ndima iyi - Ian Stendal akaberekwa nevabereki vaiva nechinzvimbo chepakati peboka revanhu panguva yaida kutanga Hondo Yenyika I, mune yainzi panguva iyoyo nyika yeBohemia muUmambo hweAustria neHungary. Baba vake, Konrad Stendal, akanga ari mukuru mukuru wekambani yemakemikari Chemicke Zavody Sokolov, uye amai vake vakanga vari Sara Marculis, vane mhuri yaiva nemabhizimisi akawanda akabudirira muPrague nePilsen. Stendal akatanga kufarira kutora mifananidzo achiri kushanda muchitoro chemakamera chababamunini vake muPrague. Mukutanga kwema1930, Stendal akanga ari mudzidzi paYunivhesiti yeFrankfurt kuGermany, kwaakatora makirasi naPaul Tillich naTheodor Adorno. Kunyange zvazvo akanga aronga kudzidza unyanzvi, Stendal akasiya Frankfurt apo vaNazi vakatanga kutonga. Muna 1934 akatora nzvimbo yekutengesa nekambani yekamera yeSwitzerland Paillard Bolex. Muna 1939, Stendal akatumirwa kuUnited States semumiriri wePaillard-Bolex kuNew York Worlds Fair. 