Fotoalbum in ringband met foto's van een reis van Norbert van den Berg met vrienden naar Duitsland 1938

This is a ring-bound photo album containing images from Norbert van den Berg's trip to Germany with friends. Though undated, we can assume it was made sometime in the mid-20th century. The format of this album speaks to the democratisation of photography and travel. Here, the personal and the political intersect; Germany's post-war landscape juxtaposed with the carefree snapshots of young travellers. What does it mean to tour a country still bearing the scars of conflict? Are these tourists confronting or eliding the recent past? To understand this album fully, we must consider the individual stories of those pictured, the socio-economic context of post-war tourism, and the politics of memory in Germany at that time. Further research into the lives and motivations of van den Berg and his companions may reveal a far more nuanced commentary on the culture of remembrance. Ultimately, this album serves as a reminder that all art, even the most personal, is shaped by the social and institutional forces of its time.