Burgbergstraße

In the work "Burgbergstrasse" Wolfram Hahn deals with the history of the buildings and inhabitants of Burgbergstrasse in Crailsheim. The road passes through a former air base built for the Wehrmacht in 1936. Since then, the area has been used for various military and civilian purposes: the US Armed Forces built barracks, which served as their base until 1994, and the German Federal Armed Forces set up an equipment depot. Shortly after the war, a camp for displaced persons was set up and there is still refugee accommodation and affordable housing for people in need to this day.

Created between 2017-19, Wolfram Hahn's series points to the continuities of these uses by combining his own photographs with other people’s private images from family albums and archives, as well as historical material such as maps and newspaper articles. A kaleidoscope of impressions is created: exterior shots of the buildings alternate with portraits of today's residents; a family poses in black and white in front of a grain field; a puzzle image featuring a tiger hangs on the wall in a hallway. The furnishings and architecture appear sparse and impersonal; this is not a home, but a place of transit. By deciding to take more individual portraits, Hahn underlines the impression of isolation, while at the same time undermining it by supplementing these with photos of the community around the campfire and smiling faces. He captures a double ambivalence: the residents settle in and yet find themselves only in a stopgap, living on the fringes of society while still being part of a community. Hahn has succeeded in gaining access to this fragile community and capturing the simultaneity of conflicting impressions.

Press: Heimat auf Zeit, Für ein friedliches Miteinander and Menschen am Ort ständiger Veränderung

Radio report: Deutsche Geschichte komprimiert auf einer Straße

Review: Conscientious Photography Magazine – Burgbergstrasse