AUGEN – BLICK – WINKEL
Engelbert Reinekes Momentaufnahmen der Politik
On this page you will find translations for descriptive texts found in the exhibition.
Staircase
[1]
Vischering Castle in the Fog
circa 1960
Original
As a native of Lüdinghausen, the young photographer Reineke also found a fascinating motif in Vischering Castle: from the side, beams of light shine through the fog into the wooded outer moat at the gate of the outer bailey. In the background, the main castle rises, while the hazy atmosphere lends the scene a mystical character and makes the castle appear sublime.
[2]
Felizitas Church during snowy weather
circa 1960
Original
Uneven roofs and winding alleys are a striking medieval feature of Lüdinghausen’s city center, captured here by Reineke in a photo taken from a window. In the background of the photo, the tower of Felizitas Church rises high above the snow flurries.
Room 1
[3]
Engelbert Reineke meeting Ronald Reagan at the White House
1988
Photo by Pete Souza
[4]
Selfportrait in a mirror
no year
[5]
Portrait of Engelbert Reineke
1988
Photo by Ludwig Wegmann
[6]
Presspasses
several years
[7]
Konrad Adenauer
5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967
First Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
In 1917, Konrad Adenauer was elected mayor of Cologne. During the period of National Socialism, he repeatedly opposed the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) and lost his position as mayor in 1933, fleeing persecution by taking refuge in a monastery. Despite his rejection of Nazi ideology, he was not an active member of the resistance movement. On September 15, 1949, Konrad Adenauer was elected the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, which had been newly founded in May of that year. He was a founding member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and focused his political efforts on the so-called Western integration of the Federal Republic. During his chancellorship, the Paris Treaties were signed on May 5, 1955, which, upon their entry into force, made the FRG largely sovereign and allowed it to join NATO. On October 16, 1963, Adenauer resigned as Federal Chancellor but remained chairman of the CDU until 1966.
As a young photographer for the Federal Press Office, Engelbert Reineke came into contact with famous figures in German politics at an early age and was commissioned to take portraits of the former Chancellor. For his portraits, he tried to work only with light—and trust, as he himself said. Only in this way was it possible to capture the person naturally and authentically. An oversized version of this portrait hung in the Konrad Adenauer House, the CDU party headquarters, from 1971 to 2000.
One year after the photos were taken, Adenauer died at the age of 91. His body was laid in state in Cologne Cathedral, his hometown, amid great public sympathy. Reineke was present and captured the moment. The photo does not show Adenauer, but the large crowd of people in the cathedral looking mournfully at the coffin. Stewards and clergy have to keep people away from the barriers.
[8]
Portrait of Konrad Adenauer
November 24, 1966
Original
As a young photographer for the Federal Press Office, Engelbert Reineke came into contact with famous figures in German politics at an early age and photographed former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. For his portraits, he tried to work only with light – and trust, as he himself says. This is the only way to capture a person naturally and authentically.
An oversized version of the portrait hung in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus from 1971 to 2000, the CDU party headquarters.
[9]
Gathering of mourning people at the funeral of Konrad Adenauer in Cologne Cathedral
April 25, 1967
On April 19, 1967, Konrad Adenauer died at the age of 91. Less than a week later, a state funeral was held in honor of Adenauer, with a farewell ceremony in Cologne Cathedral.
Reineke was there and captured the moment. It is not Adenauer who can be seen, but the large gathering of people in the cathedral, looking mournfully toward the coffin. Stewards and clergy have to keep the crowd away from the barriers.
[10]
Ludwig Erhard
4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977
Second Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
During Adenauer’s chancellorship, Ludwig Erhard, as Minister of Economics, was responsible for Germany’s return to the world market. On October 15, 1963, Konrad Adenauer resigned as Chancellor at the age of 87, partially due to health problems. His successor is Erhard, who was elected Chancellor two days later. He was known for his talent to manage economic processes. Erhard gave Germany’s economy a new boost after the Second World War, despite the high reparations payments and the division into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In his book “Prosperity for All,” he laid out the foundations for his ideas on the so-called social market economy, which he pursued as a guiding principle for Germany. Unlike in the GDR, the market economy was not to be comprehensively controlled by the state, but intervened only where the free-market economy threatened to become antisocial for weaker participants. The system proved highly successful in Germany and helped the country achieve an “economic miracle.”
With his trademark cigar, Ludwig Erhard came to symbolize the economic miracle. The immediate period of misery after the Second World War had been overcome, and many people were now able to afford consumer and luxury goods. Although this phenomenon was not only limited to Germany but also occurred in other parts of Europe, Erhard is still often referred to today as the “father of the (German) economic miracle.”
[11]
Portrait of Ludwig Erhard
February 1, 1970
[12]
Kurt Georg Kiesinger and Ludwig Erhard converse at the stairs of Schaumburg Palais, Bonn
April 1, 1968
Original
[13]
Kurt Georg Kiesinger
6 April 1904 – 9 March 1988
Third Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
In 1966, despite Erhard’s initially successful work, the Federal Republic of Germany was hit by an economic crisis. This was aggravated by the coal crisis, which had already begun to emerge at the start of Erhard’s chancellorship, and was followed by the crisis in the steel industry. On October 27, 1966, the CDU/CSU government decided to elect a new Chancellor, as Erhard had clearly lost much of his authority. About a month later, on November 30, 1966, Ludwig Erhard resigned as Chancellor. Kurt Georg Kiesinger won the new election and was appointed the third Federal Chancellor on December 1, 1966. During his chancellorship, he focused on foreign policy issues, but also improved Germany’s economic situation after the economic miracle through reforms in the economic and financial constitution. In the wake of the protest movements around 1968, criticism of Kiesinger’s past grew louder, as he had been a member of the NSDAP since 1933 and had worked in the foreign office since 1940. There, he became head of the department responsible for broadcasting foreign propaganda via radio and thereby promoting the ideology of the NSDAP.
The results of the federal election on September 28, 1969, brought his nearly three-year term as Chancellor to an end. He was succeeded by Willy Brandt.
[14]
Kurt Georg Kiesinger on a state visit to Myanmar (formerly Burma)
November 22, 1967
Original
In 1967, Kiesinger became the first German Chancellor to visit Myanmar (formerly Burma), which had been under military rule since 1962. During his state visit, Reineke captured him on an official “sightseeing tour” through the city of Rangoon – in the background is the great Shwedagon Pagoda, the religious center of the country.
[15]
Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Marie Luise Kiesinger, Panja Jürgens, and Udo Jürgens in the Chancellor’s Bungalow (from left to right)
June 25, 1969
During his term in office, Kurt Georg Kiesinger has the Chancellor’s Bungalow in Bonn remodeled, as he found the modern interior design too sober and austere. He commissioned soft upholstered furniture to make the Chancellor’s home more comfortable.
In this photo, pop star Udo Jürgens and his wife are guests of the Chancellor and his wife, playing the song “Merci Chérie,” with which he won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966 and which helped him achieve international breakthrough.
[16]
Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger at a cabinet meeting of the Grand Coalition in the park of the Schaumburg Palace
July 5, 1967
Original
[17]
Presspasses and programme booklets
several years
[18]
Willy Brandt
18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992
Fourth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
The German Chancellor known today as Willy Brandt was born in 1913 as Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm. He became politically active at an early age, joining the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) in 1930 and founding the SAPD, a local association in Lübeck. After Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor in January 1933, the SAPD was banned. Brandt fled to Norway and continued his resistance to the Nazi dictatorship from exile. There, he adopted the “nom de guerre” Willy Brandt, which he kept for the rest of his life. As a correspondent for various Scandinavian newspapers, Brandt traveled to Germany several times after the Second World War to report on the Nuremberg trials of the main war criminals.
In 1948, he returned to Germany and began his political career. He served as mayor of West Berlin from 1957 to 1966 and ran for Chancellor as the Social Democratic candidate in 1961 and 1965. During Kiesinger’s chancellorship, Brandt served as federal minister of foreign affairs and negotiated, among other things, the Franco-German Troop Agreement, one of the first major treaties on cooperation between Germany and France after the Second World War. The basic ideas of the foreign policy approach known as “Neue Ostpolitik” (New Eastern Policy) developed during his chancellorship, which began on October 28, 1969. This policy was guided by the principles of “change through rapprochement” and the “policy of small steps,” as well as the rejection of the so-called Hallstein Doctrine and the political rapprochement with Eastern Bloc states through the signing of the so-called Eastern Treaties. For these efforts, Brandt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
On May 6, 1974, Brandt unexpectedly resigned following the exposure of GDR spy Günter Guillaume, who had been working for Willy Brandt since 1972, initially as an advisor and later as a close associate.
[19]
Willy Brandt at the White House with Pearl Bailey, Rut Brandt, and Patricia Nixon (from right to left)
April 10, 1970
During his visit to the US, Willy Brandt and his wife Rut were invited to dinner at the White House by President Richard Nixon. Reineke captured the moment of the greeting. Also shown in the photograph are Nixon’s wife Patricia and actress and singer Pearl Bailey, who provides musical accompaniment for the evening. In the evening, Bailey performed the song “Hello Dolly” from an American musical, playfully substituting the name Dolly with references to Nixon and Brandt.
[20]
Portrait of Willy Brandt
May 21, 1970
[21]
Willy Brandt with Wernher von Braun at the Kennedy Space Center
April 11, 1970
On July 20, 1969, the United States achieved the first manned moon landing. About a year later, in April 1970, Willy Brandt also visited the space center in Florida during his trip to the United States. There, he met Wernher von Braun, a German rocket scientist who worked for the US space agency NASA. During the Second World War, von Braun worked as a scientist for the Nazi regime in Germany and headed the development of the Aggregat 4 rockets, which were launched against targets in Great Britain and the Netherlands. Through the use of these weapons, as well as the use of forced laborers for the production of the rockets, von Braun nowadays is held responsible for the deaths of approximately 20,000 people.
[22]
Willy Brandt at presidential retreat Camp David
April 8, 1970
[23]
Helmut Schmidt
23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015
Fifth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
After Willy Brandt resigned as Chancellor in 1974 in the wake of the “Guillaume Affair,” Helmut Schmidt was elected as the new Chancellor ten days later, on May 16, 1974. Schmidt faced crises from the very beginning of his chancellorship: the Yom Kippur War and the resulting reduction in oil production brought an end to the German “economic miracle” and caused oil prices to skyrocket. In 1976, he joined forces with six other leading nations to form the Group of Seven (G7) to tackle global economic problems. During his time as police senator in Hamburg, he skillfully managed the flood disaster of 1962, even though his actions were technically unconstitutional His chancellorship also saw the so-called “German Autumn,” during which several terrorist attacks were carried out by the Red Army Faction (RAF) between September and October 1977, including the assassination of Hanns Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of the aircraft “Landshut.”
Despite several attempts at rapprochement between West and East, such as at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki, tensions increased due to the deployment of more powerful medium-range missiles by the Soviet Union and the resulting NATO Double-Track Decision, which Schmidt supported and for which he was criticized by his party (SPD).
On October 1, 1982, following the collapse of the SPD-FDP coalition, Schmidt was removed from office as Chancellor by a constructive vote of no confidence by the CDU/CSU. His successor, Helmut Kohl, became the sixth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
[24]
Helmut Schmidt with Ronald Reagan and Richard von Weizsäcker at Checkpoint Charlie
June 11, 1982
On the last stop of his 10-day trip to Europe, the then U.S. President Ronald Reagan visited West Berlin in 1982. While efforts were being made between East and West Germany to maintain relations, the fronts between the US and the Soviet Union were hardening due to rearmament. Germany, as the potential center of a conflict, was provoking counter-demonstrations protesting against rearmament.
[25]
Helmut Schmidt an Erich Honecker at Döllnsee
December 12, 1981
During the GDR era, the Schorfheide forest in Brandenburg, home to Lake Döllnsee, served as a state hunting ground for high-ranking officials such as Erich Honecker. In the winter of 1981, Schmidt visited Honecker here as part of the third inter-German summit. While tensions between East and West were escalating globally, the talks were intended to maintain stable relations between the two German states.
[26]
Helmut Kohl
3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017
Sixth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
After Helmut Schmidt lost the office of Federal Chancellor on October 1, 1982, Helmut Kohl was elected as his successor and sixth Chancellor. His term in office from 1982 to 1998 is the longest of any Federal Chancellor to date, which is why he is often colloquially referred to as the “eternal Chancellor.”
The central goals of his government were to reduce unemployment, strengthen the economy, and improve public finances. Foreign relations also received greater attention. In July 1983, Kohl traveled to the Soviet Union with foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher to strengthen friendly relations. In 1987, he met with Erich Honecker, the head of state of the GDR, who was visiting the FRG for the first time. The topics of discussion included agreements on environmental and radiation protection and on cooperation in science and technology.
The reunification of Germany took place during his term in office. Following the easing of travel restrictions for citizens of the German Democratic Republic in November 1989, Kohl played a key role in discussions about Germany’s political and economic future. On December 2, 1990, the first all-German federal elections were held, with Kohl once again emerging as Chancellor.
In 1994, Kohl’s government decided to move from Bonn to Berlin by 2000 at the latest. Four years later, on April 23, 1998, Germany agreed to the introduction of the euro.
On September 27, 1998, the incumbent federal government was replaced, ending Kohl’s term as Chancellor in October of that year.
[27]
Bill Clinton introducing Helmut Kohl to his Mother Virginia Blythe Clinton
March 26, 1993
[28]
Negotiations on the Two Plus Four Agreement
May 5, 1990
In September 1990, the Two Plus Four Agreement was signed in Moscow. This treaty regulated the reunification of Germany and involved the two German states, the FRG and the GDR (“two”), as well as the victorious powers of the Second World War, the USA, England, France, and the Soviet Union (“four”). At the time, other European states were skeptical about a reunified Germany, as the wounds of the Second World War were still deep. The treaty secured Germany’s sovereignty but also imposed obligations: the size of the Bundeswehr was limited, the reunified Germany renounced ABC weapons and became a member of NATO. Four rounds of negotiations took place beforehand, including one in Bonn in May 1990.
[29]
Helmut Kohl and Bill Clinton in Milwaukee
Mai 22, 1996
[30]
Gerhard Schröder
*7 April 1944
Seventh Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
On October 27, 1998, Gerhard Schröder was elected as the seventh Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Under his leadership, the first red-green coalition government reformed the tax system and prepared to phase out the commercial use of nuclear energy. In 1999, the Kosovo War broke out, with the NATO intervening militarily due to the failure to sign the Rambouillet Agreement. For the first time since the Second World War, German soldiers were deployed abroad for combat operations. On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks took place in New York City, and Schröder pledged “unlimited solidarity” to US President George W. Bush in the “war on terror” in Afghanistan. During his second term in office from 2002 to 2005, he refused to participate in the Iraq War. This period also saw the launch of the “Agenda 2010” project, which included reforms of the German social security system and labor market. After Schröder faced a vote of confidence in the Bundestag on July 1, 2005, and failed to secure a majority, Angela Merkel was elected as his successor and the first female Chancellor of Germany in September.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Schröder has faced increasing criticism for his close ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia. His decision to retain lucrative positions at Russian energy company Gazprom has led to the withdrawal of many honorary titles and even to proceedings to expel him from the SPD.
[31]
Portrait of Gerhard Schröder
circa 1998
[32]
Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer in a plane
November 2, 1998
Here we see the designated Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer, the future foreign minister. At the time the photo was taken, they were on a flight to London for an inaugural visit with Prime Minister Tony Blair. Both are engrossed in reading and hardly paying attention to each other. Reineke captured a moment of calm in the otherwise tightly scheduled daily routine of a Chancellor.
Room 2
[33]
Group of photographers at the World Economic Summit in the park of the Schaumburg Palace
July 16, 1978
A large number of photographers and journalists from various countries came to Bonn for the World Economic Summit in the summer of 1978. Reineke captured the situation that often takes place behind the camera and is not visible to the viewer: The photographers and journalists pile up on more than six levels in order to take the perfect photo for their publication. They all use different camera models, different angles, and press the shutter at different moments – resulting in a multitude of possible photographs of the same moment.
[34]
Hans Hubmann and Max Scheeler in Washington
April 10, 1970
The anticipation of the right moment for the perfect shot and the associated tension of the photographers are tangible in this photo. Reineke photographed two of his colleagues, Hanns Hubmann from Quick magazine and Max Scheeler from Stern magazine. Both are equipped with several cameras, which are used for different purposes and can make an image appear completely different. Reineke’s snapshot symbolizes the work and decisions behind the photographs: we see two photographers with different ideas, cameras, and perspectives — both of them creating completely different images of the same moment.
[35]
Photo from election night 1969
September 28, 1969
When Reineke took this photo on the evening of the 1969 federal election, Kurt Georg Kiesinger was still unaware of his defeat. Even before the results were announced, many reporters and journalists gathered around the candidate.
Reineke captured the rush with a photo from an elevated position by holding the camera above the heads of the crowd – without being able to see directly through the camera. This creates a unique image composition in which Kiesinger stands among the journalists as if in the eye of a storm. This depiction can be symbolically related to his increasingly controversial position in German politics since 1968: his connection to National Socialism had provoked outrage and protests, especially among young people.
[36]
Lunasix 3, handheld light meter
year of production circa. 1966
[37]
Leica M2, 35mm rangefinder camera
years of production circa 1957 – 1968
[38]
Hasselblad 500 C (Classic) with mirror viewfinder
years of production circa 1960 – 1970
[39]
Hasselblad SWC (Super Wide C)
years of production circa 1959 – 1979
[40]
Kneeling in Warsaw
December 7, 1970
Original
As a plea for forgiveness for the German crimes during the Second World War, Willy Brandt caused a sensation in the political and media landscape with his unexpected kneeling gesture in front of the “Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto.” Reineke was able to witness and capture this moment. Although the background of the picture is filled with a crowd of people, Brandt’s gesture in the center radiates great calm. With the soldier cropped out on the left edge of the picture, the chest-high photograph reinforces the impression of a snapshot—although none of the journalists knew what was about to happen, other photographs have a more official character. With the perspective in Reineke’s photograph, on the other hand, the viewer feels transported into the crowd of people who are witnessing the special gesture between arms and shoulders.
[41]
Talks at the Federal Chancellor’s Bungalow
May 19, 1973
Original
During his chancellorship, Willy Brandt attached great importance to improving relations between Germany and the Eastern European states and sought reconciliation after the crimes of the Second World War. During talks with general secretary Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev—the first official visit by a Soviet head of state to Germany after the Second World War — and foreign minister Walter Scheel, Brandt sat in the center of the picture, surrounded by translators, security personnel, and advisors. In this photograph, Reineke captured a gesture that symbolically sums up Brandt’s new Ostpolitik. Like a bridge between West and East, Brandt spreads his arms wide during talks with the respective representatives, symbolizing the “bridge-building” of his policy.
[42]
Federal President Gustav Heinemann at the Vatican with Pope Paul VI.
March 26, 1973
Original
From 1969 to 1974, Gustav Heinemann traveled abroad on various state visits as a representative of the Federal Republic of Germany, including to Vatican City in Rome. Together, Heinemann and Pope Paul VI spoke out in favor of further friendly relations between the states and also for the promotion of justice and peace for all humanity. The composition of the group photograph appears official, yet not rigid. Members of the church look at the camera, while most of the people in the picture are engaged in brief conversation with the pope. The cleric vestments and distribution of the church officials, along with the large chairs and the antique, pilaster-decorated bookshelves in the background, lend the photograph a certain historicity, making it appear almost like a painting.
[43]
Signing of the Treaty Warsaw
December 7, 1970
Original
With the signing of the Warsaw Treaty in 1970 by Willy Brandt, Germany officially recognized the Oder-Neisse line as Poland’s western border. The signing was part of Brandt’s “New Ostpolitik,” which aimed to bring about rapprochement and reconciliation after World War II.
In this monumental-looking photograph, a row of journalists can be seen at the bottom of the picture. Reineke was unable to reach the signing ceremony on time and is faced with this impenetrable crowd. After a brief conversation with the caretaker, he was given a ladder so that he was able to capture the signing ceremony from above the heads of the crowd. At a distance from the journalists, the signing takes place in the center of the picture – the gathering of politicians in the background appears larger than it actually is due to the openings in the arcades: mirrors are attached to the left and right of the central opening. From the position of the journalists on the ground, the effect would not be nearly as dramatic as it is in Reineke’s photograph. The upper part of the photograph is dominated by a large crystal chandelier, which takes up about half of the remaining space.
The composition of the image is strongly reminiscent of old historical paintings that captured significant moments, such as other treaty signings, on canvas—for example, “The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors” by William Orpen in 1919, which depicts the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
[44]
Helmut Schmidt in conversation with Erich Honecker at the CSCE meeting
July 30, 1975
Original
Similar to Brandt, Helmut Schmidt also pursued a policy of rapprochement and, as his successor, attached particular importance to contacts with the GDR. In 1975, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) took place in Helsinki, Finland, where 35 European states, the USA, Canada, and the Soviet Union negotiated plans for peaceful coexistence and nonviolent conflict resolution. Reineke captured a moment at this conference that symbolizes the intention of the meeting: Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Erich Honecker, the head of state of the GDR, sit separated by the entrance staircase – similar to the wall that divided Germany at that time. But the two heads of state are engaged in an apparently friendly dialogue with each other across this border. The impenetrable “Iron Curtain” seems to open here in this photograph, if only for a moment, and transforms into a small ditch that can be crossed with a single step.
[45]
Helmut Schmidt on a plane
June 26, 1976
In order to address the global economic downturn, the first so-called “World Economic Summit” of the leading industrial nations of the Global North was established in 1975. This photograph shows German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt on an airplane, engrossed in reading a book while on his way to the second World Economic Summit in 1976. The scene appears intimate and like a snapshot, showing the Chancellor in a quiet moment despite his stressful daily routine. The legibility of the book title, “Die Neuordnung der Weltwirtschaft” (The Reorganization of the Global Economy), creates the image of a confident and conscientious Chancellor.
[46]
¾ Portrait of Konrad Adenauer
November 24, 1966
Original
This photograph was taken in 1966, one year before Konrad Adenauer’s death. Reineke skillfully used natural light to highlight the angular features of the 90-year-old’s face. With the help of the curtains in the former Chancellor’s study, Reineke regulated the sunlight to give the aged face a sculptural dignity — an image that did justice to Adenauer’s popularity with the public.
[47]
Richard von Weizsäcker in the Karwendel Mountains
August 18, 1990
Gaining the trust of the people he captures in his photos is an important aspect for Reineke. He was permitted to accompany the then Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker on a vacation trip to the Karwendel Mountains in Austria – without any security personnel, in the Federal President’s private car. This was followed by personal conversations and photos taken while hiking, Weizsäcker’s favorite leisure activity. Of course, these photographs can be understood as a kind of staging: an important politician who allows himself to be photographed in private moments creates a certain human closeness and can thereby influence his public image. At the same time, the figures in the political landscape are also human beings and should not be seen solely in their political function. Reineke’s photographs play with these perspectives.
[48]
Roman Herzog in Ethiopia
January 28, 1996
[49]
Roman Herzog in Ethiopia
January 28, 1996
As part of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the then German President Roman Herzog traveled to Ethiopia in January 1996. This photograph shows him greeting Somali refugees who are at the Camaboker refugee camp. While the purpose for his visit was rather passive in nature, namely to reinforce the OAU’s agenda with a speech and to assure German support, he takes a very active stance in this photograph. While the motif was often viewed positively, it is now also approached from a critical perspective. The photo creates the impression that the European industrial nations assume a leading role here in “saving” the African continent. The OAU’s goals were the opposite: to secure independence from the former colonial powers of Europe.
[50]
Green Party enters Bundestag for the first time
May 4, 1983
With the 1983 federal election, the green party entered the Bundestag for the first time with 5.6% of the vote, marking a turning point in the political culture of the Federal Republic. Their appearance was self-confident and deliberately provocative: sneakers and knit sweaters replaced the classic suit. Reineke’s photograph brings together two political generations. Petra Kelly, activist and symbolic figure of the peace and environmental movement, appears calm and skeptical in sunglasses as she listens to Helmut Kohl’s government statement. She represents the extra-parliamentary movement alongside the experienced former CChancellor Willy Brandt.
[51]
Margaret Thatcher in a Challenger tank during her visit to British troops at the NATO military training area in Bergen
September 17, 1986
Until October 2015, the British Army had a base in Bad Fallingbostel, Lower Saxony. In September 1986, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited the troops stationed there together with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Among other activities she was invited to watch a shooting exercise in one of the British Challenger tanks. The occasion for the visit was the NATO military exercise “Eternal Triangle 86,” in which British and German amored divisions took part.