I came across this photograph today and have been pulled into its aura. The faces of the old man and young women, their clothes, especially the shoes, then the background and the little boy capture me in endless fascination. There appears to me so many stories that spring out from the image.
The photographer is Hugo Jaeger. Early in 1940, Hugo took this photograph during a visit to the Kutno ghetto in Poland. What is more surprising is Hugo was the personal photographer for Adolf Hitler. He more typically recorded the triumphalism of the Third Reich rather than the shadow.
This and other images he made of the plight of Jews during the 1940's are incredibly striking and a significant reminder of the atrocities that took place in Europe in the middle of the twentieth century. After a period of economic depression and great austerity the countries of Europe went to war. Fast forward to the present day and we are in the midst of similar circumstances. Europe is on the cusp of a right wing fascist revival.
The question sitting with me is how we can step outside of this cycle of events and take a different path and learn from our history. A path that seeks to build on what joins us whilst celebrating difference. A path that seeks to innovate our way of life to a more holistic perspective.
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