Impossible to Forget: The Nazi Camps Fifty Years After

Texts by Pierre Borhan and Clément Chéroux
Photographs by Michael Kenna

These haunting photographs of Nazi concentration and extermination camps, taken between 1988 to 2000, invite a quiet contemplation that is directly in contrast to the evil that continues to live in the camps.

This powerful and moving exhibition of 88 photographs was selected from several thousand images produced over a twelve-year period by the internationally-renowned English photographer Michael Kenna. Beginning in 1988, Kenna visited the locations of Nazi concentration and extermination camps in Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Italy, Holland and Latvia.

His goal was to convey, from his own subjective point of view, what he himself found impossible to forget about the camps: the inexpressible suffering of the victims that can only be hinted at by the haunting emptiness of the camps. His images convey a meditative quality, inviting viewers to thoughtfully contemplate the expressive landscapes that, through their histories, evoke the disturbing realities of the camps. Seen together in this exhibition, the images resonate a greater truth that challenges our collective conscience to avoid repeating this dark and sinister part of human history.

Publisher: Nazraeli Press (July, 2001)
ISBN 978-1590050101
Hardcover, 80 pages
12.1 x 9.8 x 0.7 in.