Relics of the Cold War

The Cold War is over, yet its traces are still visible. For forty long years, the Iron Curtain divided Europe into East and West; atomic-bomb shelters were built, weapons stockpiled, emergency drills carried out. Dutch documentary photographer Martin Roemers (*1962) decided to track down the remains of this period. For over ten years he repeatedly traveled through formerly hostile countries on both sides of the line: through eastern and western Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine , and other former East Bloc nations. He descended into underground tunnels; photographed abandoned control centers, old barracks, wrecked tanks, and ruined statues. In his images the era of enmity, the politics of deterrence, and the arms race appear ongoing and vivid, serving as a reminder for a future of peace.