More than any other built structure in Berlin, the Wall symbolizes violent intervention in human relationships, but also the will to overcome distance in order to (re)establish and maintain closeness – to stay in touch. The Wall was the ultimate expression of a system geared toward keeping things distant and apart: it was developed in subtle steps and perfected over decades to divide people and make contact more difficult; to control them. From one day to the next, the Berlin Wall separated entire families, friends, and lovers; it split a vibrant metropolis into two halves cut off from one another.

Generations of photographers whose work is part of the Landesarchiv Berlin have explored the core concern of everything human, which is to remain close to one another, to touch one another. Their photographs depict suffering and helplessness, as well as absurd moments of growing accustomed to the abnormal.