GESPENSTER is a personal exploration of my family history, centered on my great-aunt Käthe Niederkirchner, a GDR resistance icon, and her brother Paul, executed during Stalin’s purges. Through archival material and reflections, the project examines ideological conflicts, family silence, and history’s lingering presence. Käthe, trained by the Comintern, was captured and executed by the Nazis, while Paul, falsely accused of espionage, was executed by the NKVD. Their fates reflect the contradictions of 20th-century communist movements. GESPENSTER uncovers hidden stories, questioning how political narratives shape memory and identity today.
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.
