Drie gezichten van de bezetter Possibly 1940 - 1945

This is an anonymous collage from World War II held at the Rijksmuseum; a haunting visual essay created during a time of immense upheaval. The collage's dominant image features a German soldier seated on a motorcycle, flanked by Dutch women in traditional garb. Note the soldier; his gesture is not one of aggression, but of camaraderie. Juxtapose this with images on the lower half of the collage depicting murdered bodies and an elderly woman being taken to a concentration camp. Here, the photomontage presents an intentional paradox: the juxtaposition of kindness and brutality. This duality is a potent form of propaganda. The image of the soldier with the women evokes a twisted sense of normalcy and connection, yet below, the visual narrative descends into the reality of occupation. Consider how this manipulation plays on the collective psyche, exploiting the innate human desire for peace, only to reveal the insidious presence of violence. In the context of war, such images are not merely records but psychological battlegrounds.