Luise
Archaeology of an injustice
15 June - 22 Ocotober 2023
Fałków, April 1941. The young Pole Walerian is deported to Bremen for forced labour. He stays on the farm for only ten days, has language problems, gets homesick. Suddenly the barn is on fire. The farmer's wife had him picked up and the Gestapo took him to Neuengamme concentration camp. He is to be made an example of.
Stefan Weger provides insights into the story of Walerian and the farmer's daughter Luise, Weger's great-grandmother, who tragically contributed to the boy's fate. As part of the fourth post-war generation, he poses questions about guilt, responsibility and contemporary forms of remembrance.
The documentary photographer and photojournalist Stefan Weger lives in Berlin and works for the Tagesspiegel, among others. He studied social sciences, economics and politics and photography at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin.
The exhibition was created between 2018 and 2021 and was first exhibited as part of the exhibition VIERZEHN of the graduating class 2020/21 of the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie. An artist's book (edition of 75) was published to accompany the exhibition.
Deadly forced labour in Karya
German Occupation and the Holocaust in Greece
18 August 2024 - 2025
How can a joint confrontation in Germany and Greece with the little-known history of Nazi forced labour in occupied Greece be promoted? Innovative and participatory forms of teaching history and bi-national encounter projects strengthen mutual understanding and thus European values.
Based on previously unpublished photos of the forced labour of Jewish men on the railway line in Karya, a multi-perspective touring exhibition is being developed. With the involvement of students from Germany and Greece, the Conflict Landscapes Working Group of the University of Osnabrück is geoarchaeologically investigating the site for mass graves and traces of forced labour and developing a high-quality and visually appealing 3-D model that makes the crime scene tangible. In a participatory approach, the results of eyewitness encounters and workshops with descendants of survivors are incorporated into the German-Greek project.
The exhibition is funded by the Foundation EVZ.