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The First World War in Leipzig

Studio exhibition
6 August 2014 to 4 January 2015
Opening: Tuesday, 5th August 2014
Böttchergäßchen 3, 04109 Leipzig

In August 1914, Europe became engulfed in a war which no-one suspected was to go down in history as the First World War. With its declaration of war on Russia on 1st August, the German Empire joined the rapidly expanding conflict. Only a few days later, the Leipzig 106th (King George) Infantry Regiment and the 107th Reserve Infantry Regiment left the city for the +front.
The cabinet exhibition shows photographs from an album kept by these Leipzig troops depicting their deployments in Flanders and France, as well as later in Belarus and Russia.
The photographs which were originally taken as “war souvenirs” are commented on as well as being placed in their historical context. They show moving, even nightmarish, snapshots of the first global catastrophe of the 20th century.