[Men walking past the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, corner of Marburgerstrasse and Tauentzienstrasse; the sign on the post advertises a hair salon for men and women, Berlin]
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, located near the Vishniac family’s former apartment building on Pariserstrasse, was severely damaged during an air raid in 1943. Despite the photograph’s wasteland atmosphere, an advertisement for a hairdresser on the signpost demonstrates the desire to return to normal life in the aftermath of war’s devastation. Rather than demolish the church, the city of Berlin maintained its ruins as a monument, creating a memorial hall in the bell tower. It still stands today, in Berlin’s main shopping district, and is known as the "Hohler Zahn Kirche" (Hollow Tooth Church).
For all uses of photographs by Roman Vishniac contact ICP at: vishniac_archive@icp.org.
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