Wehrmacht soldaat met twee Nederlandse vrouwen Possibly 1940 - 1948

Curator: This gelatin silver print, housed here at the Rijksmuseum, is titled "Wehrmacht soldaat met twee Nederlandse vrouwen," which translates to "Wehrmacht soldier with two Dutch women." Its creator is unknown, and its date is estimated between 1940 and 1948. Editor: Immediately, the image feels incredibly staged, doesn't it? The lighting, the posture of the women, and the officer pointing down... it's got this uncomfortable artificiality. Curator: It’s interesting you say that. As a piece of propaganda, one might expect a sense of control. How images circulate in public life matters; this image might serve specific political or institutional needs. Editor: Absolutely, there's an unease that clings to it, a disquieting layer of intent beneath the surface. Like a dark fairytale where politeness thinly veils something menacing. Curator: What strikes me is how the photograph negotiates intimacy and authority, especially given that wartime occupation often entailed intimate relationships that blurred the boundaries of private and public life. Editor: The flowers on the desk almost mock the tension, don't they? It’s a gesture towards normality or domesticity when the very scene drips with imbalance. The eye is drawn to this still life placed so oddly amidst the obvious anxiety, the unknown, of the historical moment. Curator: And the women’s expressions? Almost impossible to read with any certainty. What does one make of that calculated ambiguity? That speaks volumes about representation itself, of power relations. Editor: I think the silence emanating from their expressions is powerful in its own way. The lack of a direct story empowers us to speculate—making us complicit. Is that the purpose of this archive, perhaps? To question more than understand? Curator: Precisely, this image serves to provoke inquiry and to confront difficult chapters in our history. Editor: It certainly leaves you wondering, doesn’t it? It's that "wondering" that resonates, long after viewing it. A reminder of the slippery, many layered narratives that emerge from history.