The German Village, 2011
single channel video 6’39”, series of 2 c-prints
video still
In 1920 the architect Erich Mendelsohn designed the ‘Einstein Tower’ in Germany, near Berlin.
The building was heavily damaged by allied bombings during World War II, but it survived. In 1943, Mendelsohn secretly designed the ‘German Village’ for the US army, in Utah, USA. This was the primary site for aerial bomb testing prior to the attacks against Germany near the end of World War II. The German Village was a replica of a German residential building, using authentic designs, materials, and furnishing. The building was heavily damaged during the testing but it survived and it stands there today deep in the desolate Utah desert, within a US army base. The video Confronts these two projects by Mendelsohn, accompanied by a text written by Mendelsohn while he was sailing from Germany to the USA in 1924.
The German Village (bed room)|c-print|44x30cm
The German Village (living room)|c-print|44x30cm
documentation