In a commemorative effort, artists Hannah Goldstein and Claudia Balsters have curated an exhibition spotlighting the vital roles women played in resisting the Nazis.
In an act of remembrance, artists Hannah Goldstein and Claudia Balsters have curated an exhibition that highlights the crucial roles women played in resisting the Nazis. This exhibit, which marks the 80th anniversary of a assassination attempt against Hitler, brings to light the often-overlooked contributions of women in the fight against tyranny.
The exhibition, displayed at the Willy Brandt House in Berlin, features the writings and works of women placed across walls and scattered across floors. These visual narratives serve as powerful reminders of their courage and resilience. Among the stories told is that of Annedore Leber, who was imprisoned by the Nazis and later documented the lives of resistance fighters. Her story, along with many others, challenges the traditional male-centric accounts of history.
Hannah Goldstein notes, “women’s stories have always been considered less important than men’s stories, and there’s many reasons to speculate why that is, but one reason is the winners get to tell history, right? The winners write history and so far mostly in our history it’s been white men that write history and they will write about themselves.”
The exhibition has evoked strong reactions from visitors, some of whom have discovered connections to their own family histories.
Claudia Balsters remarks, “since we’ve been showing this work in France and in Germany, visitors who maybe remembered their own family stories, saw our images and were quite touched by the histories they entail and maybe questioned and reflected on their own role in society, as well.”
This exhibit is particularly poignant given the recent rise in far-right sentiments and attacks on Holocaust memorials in Germany. In the past year, memorials for LGBTQ victims and plaques commemorating the deportation of Jewish people have been vandalised.
Goldstein underscores the contemporary relevance of their work: “We need to keep fighting because we’ve got a quite frightening situation in Europe at the moment and in many parts of the world. We need to be brave and show that we don’t want to live this way. We want a just and fair world, and I think people who come here can take inspiration from this exhibition.”
The exhibition runs until September 8 and is a reminder of the bravery of women who fought against oppression, encouraging visitors to reflect on their own roles in the ongoing struggle for justice and equality.
