In its exhibition Report from Exile – Photographs by Fred Stein, the Deutsches Historisches Museum presents the German-American photographer Fred Stein, whose extensive photographic oeuvre is inextricably linked to the themes of emigration and exile.

As a Jew born in Dresden, Fred Stein was dismissed from the judicial service of Saxony in June 1933 and had to flee Germany in autumn 1933. While living in exile in Paris, he began to earn money by taking portrait and press photographs, eventually joining the ranks of the many self-taught photographers of Jewish origin. In 1941, Stein fled to New York, where he continued to work in portrait photography, with a special interest in portraits of writers.

As part of the Re:Writing the Future Festival, we are producing a series of films, each of which will feature two people from different backgrounds talking about their unique reactions to the exhibition. Among the participants will be artist Ayham Majid Agha, writer Olga Grjasnowa, poet Abdalrahman Alqalaq and writer Marko Martin. These films will soon be available on the DHM’s website and YouTube channel.

[Image Credits, from left: Selbstporträt Fred Stein mit Rolleiflex, um 1941/© Stanfordville, NY, Fred Stein Archive – Klaus Mann, Paris, 1935/© Stanfordville, NY, Fred Stein Archive]