Auschwitz-Birkenau. Eine Bilddokumentation [UNIQUE]
Berlin: Detlef B. Christel, 1990s. Original photograph(s). Softcover. Small Elephant Folio. (1) 12 plates. Original black heavy wraps portfolio with black lettering on cream label of cover. Title page with black lettering on paper label laid to plate. Collection of twelve original b/w photographs (7 1/2-9 1/4 x 7 1/4") by Berlin based photographer Detlef B. Christel laid to stiff black plates. Possibly a unique production, documenting the camp in the 1990s. No OCLC records.
Opening with the entrance gate of the camp, featuring the Nazi slogan "Arbeit macht frei (Work Frees)" stenciled in framed, bold iron letters atop the gate, the set is a chilling reminder of the deserted but well kept memorial and its various entities, starting the with the "Prisoner's Medical Building Resting Room," access strictly forbidden, followed by housing units, electrical fences, the crematorium and the piles of shoes left behind. Wide-angle photographs of the train station and electrical fences, and the narrow, dehumanizing row of bunks for the prisoners offer a stark contrast to the row of well kept gravestones, their tended flower decor and wreaths. The striking b/w images here display the photographer's masterful sense of framing and composition, capturing the and atmosphere and stillness of the site.
Title page stamped by photographer on verso. Some very light staining on front cover in white, with a few minor closed tears to the base of the spine. Portfolio protected in modern mylar. Very good to fine condition. Item #52601
Photographer Detlef B. Christel is most known for capturing the cityscape of Berlin short before and after the fall of the wall.
Price: $2,750.00