Soldatenleven tijdens de opleiding 1935 - 1940

Editor: This is a photograph album page called "Soldatenleven tijdens de opleiding" - "Soldier's Life During Training," dating from between 1935 and 1940. It’s at the Rijksmuseum, and credited to an anonymous photographer. The gelatin silver prints show scenes of military life, and what strikes me is the stark contrast between seemingly ordinary life and the underlying ominous context. What’s your take on this compilation? Curator: These photographs, precisely because of their seeming normalcy, are deeply unsettling. Look at the presence of swastikas in one of the images; this isn’t simply a neutral record. How do these images function as a form of social documentation and propaganda during a highly fraught political moment? How do they attempt to normalize what should be considered extreme ideologies? Editor: So you're saying we should consider what's *not* being said, as well as what's shown? Curator: Exactly. Consider the construction of masculinity within these images, and how the portrayal of group activity implies a shared identity and purpose. Whose narrative are we seeing, and whose is being erased? We need to critically examine how these images served to construct and perpetuate specific political and social ideologies related to nationhood, identity, and power. Editor: I never would have thought about how the absence of dissenting voices adds to the overall message. Curator: And who gets to define “normal,” right? What impact do these types of images have on shaping public opinion and influencing social behavior? How do visual representations play a part in the construction of consent around war, violence and oppression? Editor: That’s… really powerful, and changes my perception of these everyday scenes. Curator: By analyzing images such as these we can begin to examine how art became a tool during World War Two to create cultural and social norms.