50 years of Germany through three generations<\/p>\n
By Helly Minarti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): For a nation, 50 years represents a short
\nperiod. During the last half century many events have unfolded,
\nsome dramatic, others ironic and few euphoric, as shown in a
\nphoto exhibition titled Germany Since 1945: Seen by three
\ngenerations.<\/p>\n
Depicting almost all of Germany's high and low moments, the
\nphotos are a perfect backdrop for Technogerma '99, a biennial
\ntechnological exhibition held outside Germany. This year it is
\ntaking place at the Jakarta Convention Center, March 1-7.<\/p>\n
What is unique is that all the photos were taken by men from
\nthree different generations. They are of the Klar family, the
\nlate Willi (the grandfather), Dieter (Willi's son) and Retro Klar
\n(Dieter's son). It is indeed 50 years of German history as seen
\nthrough the viewfinders of three generations who chose
\nphotography as a profession.<\/p>\n
Willi Klar (1907-1994) represents the war generation.
\nExperiencing the world war himself, Willi had to give up his
\nambition to be a businessman due to the economic depression. He
\nrelied on his hobbies for a living: football and photography.<\/p>\n
He had been to war and tasted captivity and his camera work
\nspanned a great variety of subjects from 1945 to the early 1960s
\nthat shaped Germany as we know it. He took pictures of sport,
\nfashion, industry, advertising and theaters, all contributing to
\nhis colorful approaches to objects. His work demonstrated his
\nsensitivity whether applying a photo-journalist's eyes or setting
\nup an arranged angle as in his advertisement shots.<\/p>\n
The lost Third Reich was vividly reflected in ruined cities,
\nbombed out buildings and children in shabby outfits. But instead
\nof emphasizing gloom, Willi captured the unusual hope that arose
\nafter war ended, a kind of delight in starting anew even from
\nscratch. He expressed not a bleak mood but the candid expression
\nof ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n
Willi was also lucky to catch the first glimpse of after-war
\nnormality on the streets as he observed with keen eyes the effect
\nof formal change on people lives; how the currency reform and the
\nintroduction of the new Deutsche Mark helped restore some self-
\nesteem among the German people.<\/p>\n
His historical chronology moves by featuring photos of food
\nparcels sent by American organizations, and finally Germany
\nreceiving Marshall Plan aid. More is found in shots of the Allied
\nzones that divided Germany, shiny Volkswagen Beetles as the
\neconomy gradually picked up and on to the first pulses of
\nindustry in reopened and rebuilt factories. He even had a picture
\nof the comeback of the black singer Josephine Baker, something
\nimpossible in the recently finished Hitler era.<\/p>\n
His son, Dieter Klar, born in 1937, represents the
\ntransitional generation. Experiencing the war as a kid, Dieter's
\nlenses focused on the "new" disintegrated Germany, the West and
\nthe East and the Berlin Wall. His pictures witnessed the maturing
\nformer DDR, the German Democratic Republic, in the east through
\nscenes of political allies and their military attributes.<\/p>\n
Dieter, at the beginning reluctant to jump into photo-
\njournalism despite his early fascination with his old man's
\nphotographic equipment, then managed to build a versatile camera
\ncareer. His portfolio ranged from fashion to industry and
\nencompassed a short term in advertising before he served 17 years
\nin the DPA (German Press Agency) as, finally, a photo journalist.
\nLater Dieter switched to directing and producing TV programs for
\nseveral channels but still kept up photography as a hobby.<\/p>\n
Dieter's choice is colorful - from city architectural
\nhighlights like Berliner Dome and TV Tower in East Berlin up to
\nhigh-profile politicians like Willy Brandt. He also caught the
\nembryo of the Greens movement in Germany with his photos of an
\nantinuclear rally where some of protesters walked naked.<\/p>\n
The rise of environmental awareness among Germans and scenes
\nof political chaos are put side by side with close-ups of
\npoliticians (one of them the younger Joschka Fisher - a founder
\nof the Green Party and now Germany's State Secretary).<\/p>\n
Dieter snapped the popular folk singer Udo Lindenbergh when
\nthe artist was finally allowed to visit East Berlin. He also
\npictured the back of the Nobel literature laureate Heinrich Boell
\nwhen he took part in the blockade of an American missiles site in
\nGermany.<\/p>\n
He depicted fundamental changes in Germany's contemporary
\npolitics, from the 1968's student revolt to the rallies to street
\nbattles in the 1980s. But he also pictured pop-happenings like
\nthe concerts of Mick Jagger and Jimmy Hendrix or the emergence of
\nthe local lady rocker, Nina Hagen.<\/p>\n
The young Retro, Dieter's son, represents the new generation
\nborn after the war (in 1967). Retro was charmed by photography
\nwhen he was 15. But unlike his grandpa, who once brushed with
\nadvertising, he was more into a solid journalistic career. In his
\nearly 20s, he worked for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. Retro,
\nwho has had books published, now works as a photo-journalist for
\nvarious newspapers and magazines.<\/p>\n
The only photo in color in this exhibition is his and it
\ndepicts the dawn of the new era: the 1990s' reunification. He
\ncaught the euphoria in front of the Reichstag (parliament
\nbuilding). In his other pictures he comes across more symbolic
\nby taking smart scenes around the Brandenburg Tor and along the
\nformer Berlin Wall.<\/p>\n
He has continued to present fresh images of issues old and new
\npassed on by the older generation. Among them were the problems
\nof asylum-seekers in the early 1990s and the shadow of racialism
\nthat followed. He contrasted merry traditional carnivals with the
\nsomber youthful faces hanging around on the streets.<\/p>\n
His choice of photo personalities include Katarina Witt, the
\nbeautiful ice skater from East Germany, and Bill Clinton during
\nhis visit in Berlin. In his later works, Retro put some bitter
\nhonesty as he portrays old people living longer in a prosperous
\nGermany but abandoned since the extended family does not exist
\nany more.<\/p>\n
The photo exhibition is the story of how a nation once
\ndefeated in war and bearing guilt for its very dark history
\nmanages to rewrite its story over 50 years (some of the best
\nphotos are to be found at the technological exhibition). One
\nthing is clear: it has not been achieved without pain or rainy
\ndays.<\/p>",
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