August Sander. Persecuted/persecutors, 20th century Men.

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

August Sander (1876-1964) is the author of many photographs At the end of the First World War, while he nurtured an intellectual exchange with the avant-garde circle of Progressives of Cologne, it undertakes to train the portrait photographic of the German society of the Weimar Republic. This project, entitled the Men of the 20th century, which brings together several hundred clichés, will not appear as a whole until after his death.  His descendants continue this work today.

What do these photos mean? The Memorial is trying to answer this question in an exhibition that will take place from 8 March to 15 November 2018. Through several series of portraits made during the Third Reich, the Holocaust Memorial pays tribute to the men and women victims of Nazi ideology. 

The strength of Sander lies in the flat portrayal of diversity, social, political, but also and above all the uniqueness of men. And in this regard, he renews our questioning of the impossible, whose mission the Memorial has to remind us, without respite, that it was possible.

The exhibition presents 120 portraits, excerpts from 20th century men and unpublished contact prints.

Exhibition website