Introduction
Annette Kelm's series of works entitled Die Bücher (EN The Books) depicts individual books banned during the National Socialist rule in Germany. Many of them were burned at public events in May 1933.
Kelm's series commemorates the censorship, condemnation and removal of books from German life during Nazi rule which found an early culmination in the nationwide public book burnings in May 1933 but continued through 1945. While photographs documenting the book burnings generally show pyres with an indiscriminate mass of papers or unidentified books being flung into the flames, Kelm's photos present each book individually, with a studied care and attention akin to portrait photography. To emphasize this analogy, information about authors, publishers and designers of the book are the work's title.
Each portrayal stands not only for the fate of its creators but also represents the circumstances of the publication's survival: Someone held onto this book, risking persecution, perhaps their life and that of others. As such, the books link many destinies, but can also be seen as survivors themselves, an impression made all the more poignant by the visible traces of their use.
The works on display are drawn from the Federal Art Collection and the Collection of the German Bundestag, under the direction of Kristina Volke, Head of the Collection.