..August 2011.. ..Berlin..
Staring at the East side of the Berlin Wall with Western eyes.
The more I learn about East and West Germany the more confused I become. It is a riddle that when I begin to figure it out, I realize I know less now knowing more than I knew knowing less.
This is a link to the Wende Museum’s interview with Hagen Koch. He was the young man responsible for drawing the map and creating the original boundaries to what became the Berlin Wall. His life is fascinating and ever linked to the Wall. I’ve always wanted to photograph him. When I pursued contacting him, I learned he was in fragile health after suffering a stroke. The opportunity to photograph him lost. This is his interview with the Wende Museum.
http://www.wendemuseum.org/participate/historical-witness-hagen-koch
My attempts to document the lives of people affected by the Berlin Wall has not made significant progress yet due to the time I’ve given to the From Above project (focusing of atomic bomb survivors and fire bombing survivors) and lack of resources. I hope to one day be able to document the stories of people affected by the wall, both from the East and West, before the stories are swept away by time and a desire to push aside history that we want others to forget.
East Side Gallery, Berlin. Murals are now painted on the East side of the Berlin Wall, where not long ago you couldn’t even get close enough to touch the wall without fatal consequences. This part of the wall is along the banks of the Spree.
Tags: Berlin, Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery
good luck with this new project.
I remember in junior high I took classes in German. There were only a handful of us, but it was a learning experience. At that time there was still a big divide between the east and west. We had to learn that even the language was a bit different.