Awarded with the Gold Medal of the German Photo Book Prize 25|26 in the category Photo History
The irreconcilable ideological differences in Austria, which had escalated since the Palace of Justice fire in 1927, were reflected in a flood of propaganda and campaign publications. The rival political camps developed strategies to present their points of view on the cover of these publications: books, brochures or booklets served as “small posters” that attracted attention in a variety of innovative and highly emotional ways. The montage of photo and text became a medium for mobilizing and intensifying ideological conflicts.
Splinters of reality, assembled into aggressive montages, reflected the despair over the economic situation of the working and—increasingly numerous— unemployed after the First World War, while on the other side of the political spectrum, images of untroubled harmony called for a return to a traditional world view.
The publication is published on the occasion of the exhibition Book Cover! Photomontages in the political struggle of the 1930s in Austria, Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna (2025), Fotohof, Salzburg (2025/26), Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek, Leipzig (2026)
Published on the occasion ot the exhibition Book Cover! Photomontages in the political struggle of the 1930s in Austria at Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna, March 19 - June 20, 2025
