Divided Views, Shared Views

Young Photography in West and East Germany

Laurenz Berges, Henry Neitzke, Kai-Uwe Nerger, Thomas Neumann, Ina Paaschen, Karin Schäuble, Roland Theil, Wolfgang Volz

The striking differences in the photography of children and young people from East and West Germany stemmed from conditions in the two societies. The exhibition presents photographs from the East German and West German national youth photography competitions from 1970 to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Beyond ideological and political divergences, the images show how children and young people saw themselves. Young photographers in East and West shared an interest in the themes of leisure time, school, partnership and identity. However, the views and atmospheres in their images differ and reflect different day-to-day realities. The ‘language of moments’ indicates inner processes in the examination of the outer, social world and different experiences on the two sides of the Berlin Wall. In this way they open up visual spaces that invite the viewers of today to reflect on the perceptions of that time – and to join in a dialogue that is also relevant to understanding the present.