As part of the denazification and democratic re-education efforts in the U.S.-occupied Federal Republic of Germany (1945–1952), military officials used surveys and studies to understand and influence the occupied population. The archives of OMGUS (Office of Military Government, United States) in Munich contain psychological surveys conducted by the U.S. military, which were intended to assess the democratic tendencies and psychological attitudes of Germans who had until recently lived under National Socialism. From today’s perspective, much of the information in these surveys corresponds to current political debates in contemporary Germany regarding the rise of the far right, militarization, war, anti-democratic tendencies among youth, and the future of Germany. In his new video work, Gal transforms a selection of these studies into conversational formats and packages the archival material within the contemporary genres of video podcasts and TikTok selfie videos. Following the screening, there will be a discussion with Dani Gal about the making of the video and the interplay between archival material and today’s reality in Germany and beyond.
45 min, 2025
Written and directed by: Dani Gal
Cinematography: Itay Marom
Starring: Lara Babalola and Daniel Stern
Produced by: Heiner Schirmmacher
Supported by: Hans Purmann Foundation
Dani Gal (born 1975 in Jerusalem) is an artist and filmmaker based in Berlin whose work explores memory, history, and the mechanisms of political power. Through films, installations, and texts, he examines how historical narratives are constructed and manipulated. His works straddle the line between documentary and fiction, questioning the reliability of archives, eyewitness accounts, and collective memory. His films and works have been widely exhibited, including at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011), the Istanbul Biennial (2011), the New Museum in New York (2012), the Kunsthalle St. Gallen in Switzerland (2013), the Jewish Museum in New York (2014), the Berlinale Forum Expanded (2014), the Kunsthaus Zürich (2015), the Kunsthalle Wien (2015), Documenta 14 (2017), and the Centre Pompidou (2018).
Admission to this event is free. The film is subtitled, and the discussion will be translated into German.