Echtpaar Berti Hoppe en Herman Besselaar te Schönbrunn en Nussdorf in Wenen 1930 - 1931

This is a photograph of Berti Hoppe and Herman Besselaar taken in Vienna in May 1938 by an anonymous photographer. It offers a poignant glimpse into the lives of ordinary people against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. The photograph is divided into two distinct scenes, one at Schönbrunn Palace and the other along the Beethovenweg in Nussdorf. Schönbrunn, once the summer residence of the Habsburgs, symbolizes the old imperial order, while the Beethovenweg perhaps represents a connection to Vienna's rich cultural heritage. Made on the eve of the Anschluss, when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, this image acquires a deeper resonance. Did the photographer consider the social disruption that was about to occur? What did it mean to be an ordinary Austrian at this point in time? Further research into the lives of Berti Hoppe and Herman Besselaar might reveal how they navigated the turbulent years that followed. It allows us to understand art as contingent on historical context.