Fanzines of Resistance
We designed the scenography and graphic design for the exhibition "My verses are like dynamite" Curt Bloch's Het Onderwater Cabaret for the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Between August 1943 and April 1945, the previously unknown German-Jewish author Curt Bloch created a unique work of creative resistance in his hiding place in the Netherlands: Het Onderwater Cabaret. It is a collage-style booklet in which he deals with Nazi propaganda and the course of the war with sharp satire. It is a fanzine about fake news. A topic that could not be more topical in a world where war, disinformation, discrimination, exclusion and persecution are commonplace.
Jüdisches Museum Berlin
Fanzines of Resistance
2024
Curt Bloch created 95 booklets in the two years he spent in hiding; an incredible treasure trove of poetry and satire that he risked his life to produce every week. Eighty years later, Het Onderwater-Cabaret is presented to the public for the first time.
The exhibition shows all the original editions. The scenographic element is the floating on the surface of the water, which runs through the exhibition like a blue ribbon. The constant moment is the clear rhythm of the appearance of the booklets.
Audio stations for selected poems bring Bloch’s verses to life: the poems can be read in transcription. We have designed a separate booklet for this purpose.
The entire Het Onderwater-Cabaret is available in digital form. We designed the screendesign for the media station where visitors can click through to each booklet and browse through the transcriptions. The clear, understated design highlights what it is all about: the covers of the booklets.
Thanks to our partners!
The exhibition design was co-created with:
Thilo Albers
Exhibition views by:
Thomas Bruns
Have a look at another project with Jüdisches Museum Berlin:
Paris Magnetique
Historic references:
Curt Bloch, undatiert; Foto: Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Sammlung Curt Bloch, Inv.-Nr. 2023/90/05, Schenkung von Lide Schattenkerk
Copyright bei Charities Aid Foundation America dank der großzügigen Unterstützung der Familie Bloch, Digitalisierung: Jüdisches Museum Berlin
