Duitse militairen 1940 - 1945

Curator: This gelatin-silver print, simply titled "Duitse militairen," or "German Soldiers," comes to us from between 1940 and 1945. The photographer is unknown, and it is part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: There’s an unsettling familiarity to it. Like an old family album… but these are not photos of smiling uncles. There’s a detached, almost clinical feeling, even though they're trying to look like they're having fun. Curator: Precisely. It speaks to the way propaganda and casual brutality became normalized. It reflects the complexities of group portraits during wartime, inviting reflection on collaboration, resistance, and individual stories that comprise broader narratives. Editor: The contrast is strange, right? The slightly ragged edges of the photo and the sepia tones almost give it a nostalgic feel, until you remember what’s actually depicted. Then you’re thrown back into the harsh reality. There is a performative element; it is hard to look at people and to not try and see how the historical perspective influences your judgment. Curator: Definitely. Photography offered both documentation and a means to actively shape memory and construct identities. In this particular work, German Expressionism surfaces alongside realism, to represent this time, to challenge viewers to look closer at these seemingly ordinary images, and to grapple with what it meant, and still means, to photograph war. Editor: I am seeing, now more than when I started, that looking at an image doesn’t stop with your eyes; it ripples outwards and backwards, engaging memories and asking hard questions of not only the photograph, but of me, the viewer. It sits with you after you leave the exhibit. Curator: Agreed. This is history refusing to be silent, demanding critical engagement.