Tentenkamp van de Jeugdstorm Possibly 1934 - 1935

This is an undated gelatin silver print made by the NSB, the Dutch National Socialist Movement. As a photograph, the production of this work relies on both the industrial manufacture of photographic materials and the labour of the photographer, capturing an image of the Jeugdstorm, the NSB's youth movement, camping in tents. The photograph's monochrome palette and textured surface, a result of the chemical processes involved in its creation, lend it a documentary quality, but the composition is carefully arranged, intended to convey a particular ideology. The tents and flags, mass-produced items associated with organized outdoor activities, signify unity and order. The image suggests a carefully constructed vision of youthful camaraderie, physical fitness, and nationalistic fervor. It’s important to recognize that the photograph itself is a crafted object, not a neutral record, embodying the NSB's political agenda. Looking at the materials and the making of this image helps us to consider the complex interplay between propaganda, collective identity, and the aesthetics of power, underscoring how social and political contexts are embodied within the object.