Harald Hauswald

fans football Hauswald

Un mot sur l'oeuvre

(HHAU006)
At the end of the 80s, Harald Hauswald worked on an assignment for a West German magazine wanting to show the state of hooliganism in East German football. It was a phenomenon that, according to the local authorities’ official line, didn’t exist in East Germany but remained the prerogative of a depraved Western society. For the assignment he met supporters of Union Berlin FC, thus marking the beginning of an adventure that would last for more than 25 years. Harald never left them again and followed them regularly for many years to tell the story of Germany through them.
This is one of the first images of the series, taken from his first feature on a match between Union Berlin FC and Dynamo Berlin, the much despised neighbouring club.

Le témoignage d'Harald Hauswald

Matches between Union, a working-class club, and Dynamo, who were financed by the Stasi, were always rough, both on and off the pitch. To such an extent that they sometimes had to be moved for reasons of security, as was the case for this match, to the Weltjugend (World youth) stadium, the largest in East Germany. Security was handled by the army, not the police.

Le choix de Jean-Denis

Harald worked in a totally different way for this shot. Usually he remains discreet and is always invisible in his photos. He therefore manages to capture the situation as naturally as possible. For this photo he did the opposite. He planted himself on the steps, close to and facing his subject. As if he were enjoying his little provocation and the reactions he was getting. A childish and spectacular joy from the spectators, while the soldiers are much more restrained. He's teasing them.
It is also an image that speaks volumes. It answers the question posed by Western media at the time. If you have to move an army for a football match.....