Else Wachenheimer-Moos en haar echtgenoot Eugen Wachenheimer op vakantie met twee onbekende vrouwen voor de Murgtaldam, augustus 1932, Baden-Baden 1932 - 1938

Editor: This is a page from an album containing gelatin silver print photographs, created between 1932 and 1938. The pictures feature Else Wachenheimer-Moos and her husband, Eugen Wachenheimer, on vacation with two unknown women in front of the Murgtaldam in Baden-Baden. They’re like little windows into a very specific moment in time. What feelings or thoughts does it spark in you? Curator: This image really whispers stories, doesn’t it? The mundane—a holiday snap. The extraordinary—it survived. There’s such gentle composition, nestled in the album page… almost safe, wouldn't you say? But the stark monochrome betrays some loss; that soft longing. What do you think these vacations were for them, given the time period? Do you think the album was intentional or a matter of happenstance? Editor: Perhaps a little escape? Given the rising tensions in Europe at that time…maybe just a bit of normalcy. The fact they are positioned by this enormous concrete structure makes me wonder if it reflects a belief in technology or a confidence in engineering? Curator: Yes, precisely! This isn’t just a vacation photo, it's a constructed memory – a little insistent, really! Maybe the dam stands for something, something bigger… control over the future? Maybe this structure gave them hope against those tumultuous historical currents…What I think I'll always remember is this album standing the test of time, a witness, a gentle observer. It makes me feel melancholic for the things that did not make it. What feeling will you remember? Editor: I’ll definitely remember feeling both a sense of intimacy and distance – the personal nature of the photos contrasted with the unknown fate of these people. Thanks so much! Curator: It’s my pleasure.