The Collection: The Images

The photographic archive of the VNG is one of the most significant contemporary German collections of photographic art. It is a historic witness of the social transition in the former GDR between 1992 and 2000. The newly-acquired photographic works for "EAST – Zu Protokoll" are based on the idea of the parallel nature of personal events between August 1989 and January 1990. 75 photographers were invited to submit a personal image from this historically significant period in Germany. The majority of the 220 photographs were taken almost incidentally. It is only with hindsight that they were selected from their archives as witnesses to this time. The pictures show the apparently untouched nature of everyday life beyond the political stage at that time. The photographers have written down their memories of this or supplied text documents from the time at which the images were created. These documents have been compiled chronologically for visitors as an accompaniment to the "EAST – Zu Protokoll" photographic collection.

"EAST – Zu Protokoll" is a multi-perspective chronicle of the autumn of 1989, which does not aim to represent the historic events themselves.