August Sander. Persecuted/persecutors, of the men of the twentieth century.

This exhibition was presented from 8 March to 15 November 2018 at the Shoah Memorial in Paris.

August Sander (1876-1964) is the author of many photographs iconic of the 20th century. At the end of the First World War, as he nurtured an intellectual exchange with the avant-garde circle of Progressives of Cologne, he undertakes to train the portrait photograph of the German society of the Weimar Republic. This project, entitled les Men of the 20th century, which gathers several hundred pictures, will not appear in its entirety until after his death.  His descendants still continue this work today.

What do these photos mean to us? The Memorial tries to answer this question in an exhibition that will take place from March 8 to November 15, 2018. Through several series of portraits made under the Third Reich, the Shoah Memorial honors men and women victims of Nazi ideology. 

Sander’s strength lies in the portrayal of diversity, social, political, but also and above all the uniqueness of men. And in this regard, he renews our questioning on the impossible, of which the Memorial has the mission to remind, relentlessly, that it was possible.

The exhibition presents 120 portraits, excerpts from the Men of the 20th century and unpublished contact prints.

exhibition website