Images of the World and the Inscription of War

In 1944, the US Air Force took photographs over Nazi-occupied Poland. These aerial images, shot from an altitude of 7,000 meters, form the starting point of the essay film Images of the World and the Inscription of War. The Auschwitz concentration camp was clearly visible in the photographs, but it was not recognized as such at the time. What the images actually revealed only came to light 35 years later.

Artist Harun Farocki explores the complexity of how narratives and perceptions are shaped in the context of war. Using archival material and accompanied by a pensive voice-over, the documentary shows the impact visual observations can have on history.

Farocki not only sheds light on the story of the Auschwitz aerial photographs but also draws a connection to Marc Garanger’s photo book Femmes algériennes 1960. The portraits of Algerian women in the book conceal a painful truth: they were photographed against their will and forced to remove their veils. The film thus shows how images, although seeming to be innocent, can nevertheless bear witness to a harrowing reality.