Culver City,
California
x
Unnamed Archive
Maker: Unknown
Date Made: n.d.
Country: German Democratic Republic
Materials: photograph paper
Measurements: 23.5 cm x 17 cm; 9 1/4 in x 6 11/16 in; 5.5 cm x 4 cm; 2 3/16 in x 1 9/16 in
Language: German
Genre/Form: photograph
Included here are large format black and white photographs of individuals which have been matched with passport-size photos of the same person. They include both women and men in a range of ages. The large format photographs appear to have been taken in the same location, as the same furniture is visible in each image. The people photographed are waiting in line and appear unaware that their picture is being taken. The photos were likely taken covertly as people waited at the border checkpoint to cross from East to West Germany or vice versa. For this reason, they seem like surveillance photos, and this conclusion is only heightened by the accompanying passport pictures which appear to be photographed directly from the passport page, as there are stamps and grommets visible. The fact that the photographs are paired and numbered suggest that they were used as a teaching tool for border guards in training. Trainees may have been required to match the surveillance photo with the passport photo. Conversely, these images may have been used to record and monitor those attempting to cross the border.
Collection/Series: Peter Bochmann Border Guard Collection
Accession Number: 2017.015.045