A Family Memoir of Resistance, History and Silence
"GESPENSTER" is a deeply personal exploration of my family's history, centered on my great-aunt Käthe Niederkirchner, who was revered as an anti-fascist hero in the GDR. Through archival material, personal memories, and reflections, I navigate family secrets, ideology, and the haunting legacy of East Germany’s past. This project is not a tribute to a family heroine, but rather an investigation into the spectral presence of history—how it continues to shape and influence the present.
The project delves into an incomplete family history intricately linked to 20th-century European upheavals, focusing on the contrasting fates of Käthe and her brother Paul. Käthe became a symbol of GDR resistance, trained by the Comintern as a parachutist and radio operator to oppose German fascism. Paul, however, was arrested and executed by the NKVD in Moscow in 1938, accused of espionage due to his confiscated photographs. One sibling, trained as a spy, was captured and executed by the Nazis on her mission, while the other was wrongfully executed by the NKVD. The profound silence surrounding these fates—within both family and public discourse—forms the heart of "GESPENSTER," as it uncovers hidden stories and addresses gaps in understanding.
The Niederkirchner family was deeply embedded in communist movements. Michael Niederkirchner, the father, was a member of the Central Committee of the German Communist Party (KPD), the Revolutionary Trade Union Organisation (RGO) and the Red Trade Union International (RGI). His children—Paul, Käthe, and Mia—followed in his political footsteps. Paul’s execution during Stalin’s purges and Käthe’s death in Ravensbrück in 1944 at the hands of the Nazis mirror the experiences of many communists torn between conflicting ideologies. "GESPENSTER" highlights their personal struggles while revealing the broader consequences of political repression and resistance.
Videoinstallation (2024)
Camera: Ilja Niederkirchner
Editing: Roberta Stein
Sound Composition: Roberta Stein
On the night of October 7, 1943, Käthe Niederkirchner parachuted behind enemy lines over the Parczew forest in Poland, on her 34th birthday. Her parachute became tangled in the crown of a pine tree, and she was rescued the next morning by Polish partisans. In early October 2023, 80 years later, I traveled to the Parczew forest to visit the place where Käthe's mission began.
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