Een lid van de Wehrmacht in een roeiboot 1940 - 1945

This photograph of a Wehrmacht soldier in a rowboat was taken by an anonymous artist sometime in the early 1940’s, and it’s deceptively calm. The approach is stark; the palette is limited to shades of gray, making the whole scene feel distant, like a faded memory. The texture of the photograph itself is smooth, almost clinical, which contrasts sharply with the disquieting subject matter. The image is so clear, it's like the photographer is trying to freeze a moment in time. Look at the way the light catches on the water, each ripple a tiny, fleeting reflection, and then look at the man's face. There’s something unsettling in his expression, a mix of ease and tension that hints at the chaos beneath the surface. This photograph reminds me of the work of Gerhard Richter, who used blurry, out-of-focus imagery to explore themes of memory and trauma. Art doesn't give us answers; it gives us a space to ask questions, to grapple with the ambiguities of history.