"A Housing Expert Examines a New Villa at Berchtesgaden"
1937
A gelatin silver print documentary photograph showing a man in a uniform with a swastika armband greeting visitors on the drive of a new villa at Berchtesgaden, made to record and circulate a high‑profile inspection.
At first glance the photograph reads like a newspaper snapshot: the relaxed cluster of figures and gleaming cars set against trees is arrested by the unmistakable dark armband, turning a casual social moment into a charged political tableau.
As a piece of 1930s press photography, it reveals how photojournalism documented and helped normalize the theatrical presence of authoritarian power in public life, linking political spectacle to architecture and media circulation.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
4 3/4 × 6 5/8" (12 × 16.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The New York Times Collection
Accession
2017.2001
Palette
Exhibitions
