New facets of an old story

With events and shows on divided Germany, the exhibition houses in Berlin fulfill the expectations of tourist clichés all year round. One might think that German history between 1949 and 1990 had been grazed by now. But the curators and organizers continue to surprise with new facets: Starting February 10, the German Historical Museum in Berlin will show how East and West tried to lure visitors toward »progress« with a staged reality.

The exhibition »Progress as a Promise. Industrial Photography in Divided Germany« shows how companies used targeted commissioned photography to create narratives about consumption and technical necessities during the roughly forty years of division. Visitors perceive differences and similarities and learn new things about the function of photos from the steel, chemical, textile, and automotive industries. They look at »dramatically lighted production halls, seemingly endless assembly lines, broad smiles on soot-smudged faces« from the 1950s to the end of the GDR. The event runs through May 29.