Andreas Biefang (KGParl) / Marij Leenders (CPG)

Political power needs openness to function. This is especially true for systems that are based on parliaments. Modern parliaments are reliant on public access to perform their command of representation. In the 19th century this was mainly achieved by means of written protocols of the parliamentary debates and by press coverage. In addition, this parliamentary openness also had a visual side: press drawings, photographs, caricatures, paintings and postcards.

This visual representation is the focus of this project. Its aim is a comparative analysis of the German and Dutch visual culture in the Interbellum period, which is embedded in the national parliamentary culture and public sphere. Starting point and binding element will consist of the photos that the Berlin photographer-journalist Erich Salomon made, both in the German Reichtstag as - in exile - in Netherlands - in both chambers of the Dutch parliament. These pictures provide an excellent personal historical access, to a comparative investigation into the common and different political traditions and medial order.

An expert seminar will take place from 14 until 16 December 2011 in Nymegen, The Netherlands.

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