August Sander
Persecuted/ persecutors
of the Men of the 20th centuryExhibition

The Shoah Memorial dedicates a large exhibition to series of portraits taken during the Third Reich by one of the major figures in German photography, August Sander (1876-1964). Internationally recognized as one of the founding fathers of documentary style, August Sander is the author of many iconic photographs of the 20th century. He undertakes at the end of the First World War a project that will become that of a life: to draw, under the title of "Men of the 20th century", the photographic portrait of German society. He made around 1938 many identity photographs of persecuted Jews, as well as portraits of Nazis who appear at his photographic studio in Cologne. At the end of the war, August Sander decided to integrate these images as well as those made by his son Erich, who died in prison in 1944, into his project. August Sander’s strength lies in the flattening of the portrait of social and political diversity, but also and above all of the uniqueness of men. And in this regard, he renews our questioning about the impossible, of which the Memorial has the mission to remind, relentlessly, that it was possible.

see the exhibition site

guided visits

Free guided tours of the exhibition for individuals on Thursdays 5 and 12 April, 17 and 31 May, 14 and 21 June and 5 July from 7:30 pm to 9 pm.
Without prior reservation.

Guided tours are offered on request to groups.
On reservation: tel.: 01 53 01 17 26 or reservation.groupes@memorialdelashoah.org

To follow the exhibition on social networks: #ExpoPhotoSander

Publication

August Sander, Persecuted/ persecutors, of the Men of the 20th century, 2018.
Exhibition catalogue
(Co-édition Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris/Éditions Gerhard Steidl GmbH & Co., Göttingen, 2018)

On sale at the Shoah Memorial bookstore or on the online bookshop.

In partnership with

Photo: Gunther Sander, August Sander in Kuchhausen, c. 1956/1958, vintage gelatin silver print. © Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur – August Sander Archiv, Cologne; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; ADAGP, Paris, 2018. Courtesy of Gallery Julian Sander, Cologne and Hauser & Wirth, New York.