Dood van Hitler Possibly 1945

This collage called, *Dood van Hitler*, made by an anonymous artist, is a series of photographs of a historical moment. The grainy texture and monochromatic palette give it a rawness, like a document that hasn't been prettied up. The way the images are arranged, almost like snapshots pasted in a scrapbook, creates an intimate feel, despite the grand historical narrative. The contrast between the top image, a crowded room of people celebrating, and the bottom image, a large group of armed soldiers, is striking. The shift between a sense of intimate joy and potential violence is palpable. The image, with the single soldier is particularly poignant: the text states ‘I had lost a great deal of weight during the hunger winter’ The use of a personal statement connects us with those who experienced the war and the sense of release at its end. The choice of leaving the artist anonymous adds to the idea that this isn't about one person's vision, but a collective experience of a historic moment. It's like folk art, but with photos instead of paint, capturing a shared memory with all its complexities and contradictions.