Kinderen bij een "bunker" Possibly 1945 - 1946

This black and white photograph, made by Anefo, captures three children standing in front of a bunker. There's something haunting about the stark contrast and the way the bunker looms in the background. I notice the sign pointing towards "Indeelingsraad," adding to the bureaucratic mystery of the scene. The textures are incredibly tactile: the rough bricks of the bunker, the sandy ground, and the soft, almost blurry lines of the distant tower. You can almost feel the cold, damp air. That brickwork, though – it’s so precise and orderly, a stark contrast to the wild, unkempt hill behind it. It reminds me a bit of the geometric precision you find in some of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographs of industrial structures. There's a similar sense of detachment, a cool observation of form and function. But then you have the children, their presence injecting a dose of humanity and vulnerability into the frame. Ultimately, it's a photograph that invites us to reflect on the complex relationship between childhood innocence and the imposing structures of the adult world. It feels less about answers and more about raising questions.