On September 17 my photo exhibition “Searching For Traces – Jewish Heritage in Western Ukraine” was opened in the hall of the Regional Association of the Rhineland in Cologne. The exhibition consists of a selection of my black and white images from Galicia, Podolia and Bukovina. Since October 2012, I repeatedly traveled in Ukraine – with me my old analog camera. This project has now come to a first climax and the future will show whether this is an end or a beginning.

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Jürgen Ertelt

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Prof Dr Jürgen Wilhelm speaking. Photo: Jürgen Ertelt

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Jürgen Ertelt

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Jürgen Ertelt

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Edgar Hauster speaking. Photo: Marion Tauschwitz

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Jürgen Ertelt

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Edgar Hauster speaking. Photo: Ingo Breuer

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. I, Marion Tauschwitz, Edgar Hauster. Photo: Marion Tauschwitz

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Ingo Breuer

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Marion Tauschwitz

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Ingo Breuer

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Ingo Breuer

Exhibition opening, Cologne, September 17, 2014. Photo: Ingo Breuer

Prof Dr Jürgen Wilhelm, president of the Regional Assembly of the Rhineland and Edgar Hauster were the speakers of the evening. Last night and today friends congratulated me on these two speakers. I have no reason to disagree with them and I am grateful to both speakers for having made the opening a real experience for about 120 visitors!

There are more people I am indebted to and I would like to name them as a sign of my affection. Sylvia de Swaan has inspired me to deal with black and white photography again and to turn my many trips through Western Ukraine into a photo project. Sylvia recommended the Cologne based photographer Hp Schaefer to me, when I began to think about an ehibition. Hp Schaefer gave me the chance to meet with Miguel Freund, one of the directors of the Regional Association of the Rhineland, who liked my pictures and promoted the idea of an exhibition. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wilhelm agreed to the idea and insisted to speak at the opening. Without Miriam Meisenburg, Kezban Tursun and her son Angel Tursun the exhibition would have never been constructed. These friends were there when I needed help with tranportation and hanging frames. Thomas Malara of kunstdruckbar.de has printed my pictures, improved them for his printer, and ultimately made ​​them what they are. Thanks also to all who have traveled with me, my friends Petra and Achim, Sabine and Ingo. Thanks to all who have encouraged me not to give up in self-doubt.

Thanks to Jürgen Ertelt, Ingo Breuer and Marion Tauschwitz for the photos of the opening. I myself was too excited to take photos. And thanks to all who came to see the photos. A picture is meaningless if there is no observer. You have given a meaning to the images.

The exhibition can be visited until September 28 at the Regional Association of the Rhineland at Kennedy-Ufer 2 in Cologne-Deutz. It will then continue to Frankfurt and be opened on September 30 at 8 p.m. in the wonderful gallery “platform sarai”. I’m looking forward for this!

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