In the early 1980s, Harald Hauswald photographed the already heavily deteriorated historic Passage department store between Oranienburger Straße and Friedrichstraße, shortly before parts of the building were demolished. In his new book KaDeO – Kaufhaus des Ostens | Gesichter eingefangen, he places these striking photographs alongside contemporary portraits of people from East Berlin. People who found creative and determined ways to live with an environment in decline.

To mark the publication of the book, Harald Hauswald shares insights into his photographic archive. He talks about the stories behind the images and what these photographs can still reveal decades later.

The conversation takes place in a special setting: in the part of the former department store that was saved from disappearing by Kunsthaus Tacheles and is now home to Fotografiska Berlin. Here, Hauswald’s view of the past meets the place where this history is still visible today.

Afterwards, you can purchase the book and get it signed by the photographer.  

Please note the talk is in German.

About the Photographer

Harald Hauswald, born in 1954 in Radebeul, has lived and worked as a photographer in Berlin since 1978. He is known for his photographs documenting everyday life in the GDR. He is a founding member of the OSTKREUZ Agency of Photographers in Berlin and has published photo features in GEO and Stern. In 1997, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz), followed by the German Unity Citizens’ Award (Einheitspreis – Bürgerpreis zur Deutschen Einheit) in 2006.

Schedule:  

• 18:30 – Doors Open
• 19:00 – Talk and Launch
• 20:30 – End

Tickets:

• 0 € - Event