BACKGROUND: Photographing the camps

Level: from 9th to 12th grade

On the occasion of the Bicentenary of Photography, the Shoah Memorial and ECPAD are joining forces to propose a journey on the theme of the photographic image and issues surrounding its uses during the war. At the Memorial, they analyze and question photographs taken by the Nazis in 1944 at Auschwitz-Birkenau while at ECPAD, they study those taken by French operators in Germany during the discovery of the camps.

• 1st session at the Shoah Memorial

Workshop: Images of Auschwitz

Level: from 9th to 12th grade

Themes: Auschwitz complex, deportation, dehumanization, trial, testimonies, memoirs.

Historical periods: World War II, history of the present time.

Materials: Photographs, testimonies, video clips.

Main activity: Group work based on photographic corpora.

Duration: 3 hours

• 2nd session at the Defence Communication and Audiovisual Production Establishment (ECPAD)

Workshop: Images of the discovery of the camps

From the spring of 1945, the discovery of Nazi concentration camps was shared around the world, with images to support it. In France, some of these shots are taken by the Army Film Service to document the facts, provide evidence, but also denounce the Nazi barbarism while promoting the action of the army.

The workshop offers students to learn how to decipher these images by using them in various contexts, whether it is the "One" of a newspaper or a document mobilized during a trial.

Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes of activities, including 1 hour visiting the fort and archives.