Bonn
28 / 10 / 17
Color of Time (2017), custom made pigment on canvas, 51.5 x 50 cm (each of 13). Photo: TiKL 2017
Arbeitsgericht Bonn / Employment Court Bonn
11 / 10 / 17
Archives in the cellar of the Employment Court in Bonn. Photo: TiKL 2017
From the archives cellar of the labor court in Bonn
The building, which now houses the Bonn labor court, was run by the Gestapo as a torture prison in 1938. The corridors and cells are still recognizable despite a comprehensive transformation. Today, les are stored in the former prison cells.
Oscar-Romero-House
12 / 10 / 17
Cellar of the Oscar-Romero-House in Bonn. Photo: TiKL 2017
From the basement of the Oskar-Romero-House in Bonn
The Oskar-Romero-Haus at the end of Heerstraße in Bonn was built in 1869 as a district canton prison for minor offenses such as vagrancy or vandalism. Parents whose children did not attend the school were temporarily detained here to raise awareness for their lack of caring. The maximum prison time was six weeks. In 1894 the house was transformed into a women’s prison, where the detainees did the laundry of other district prisons. In 1930 the extension of the building was transformed by the Catholic Caritas into a homeless asylum.
The dark chapter of the house began on April 1, 1933, when the building was leased to the SS. The basement of the house was converted into one of the dreaded “wild prisons,” in which people were imprisoned and tortured. On July 11, 1933, the Communist Joseph Messinger was tortured to death by men of the SS. In 1938, one year before the beginning of World War II the basement was pre- pared for the total war and transformed into an air-raid bunker. After the war, the house was used as an alternative accommodation, and in 1963 it was used as an emergency shelter for “delinquent tenants.” During this time the house came down and the municipal government considered its demolition until pastor Martin Huthmann moved in in 1973 and restored the building with the help of students. A successful donation call in 1982 raised enough funds for the acquisition of the house and land. In this year, the house was renamed “Oscar-Romero-House” in memory of the murdered Archbishop of San Salvador.
From Shri Priyadarshan Metha's Farmhouse in Kochrab, Ahmedabad
28 / 02 / 17
First floor of the farmhouse in Kochrab. The room with the old spinning wheel. Photo: TiKL 2017
From the room with the spinning wheel in PD Metha's farmhouse in Kochrab
Priyadashan’s grandfather Shri Dahyabhai Ilyatram Mehta worked as treasurer in various principalities in Gujarat and Rajasthan and other West Indian territo- ries. In this function, he advised the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway on the expansion of the rail network, which allowed him and his family to build the farmhouse in Kochrab on the west bank of the Sabarmati River. Today Priyadas- han lives in the house that is now surrounded by the hectic traf c of Ahmedabad. Back in the days the building served as a summer residence for the family or as a guest house. When Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa, he was hosted by the Dahyabhais in the farmhouse. Later, when he decided to settle in Ahmedabad, he founded an ashram near the house. And after Gandhi decided to found the Gujarat Vidjapith University, it was temporarily run in the farmhouse. From 1920 to 1921 the principles of the Swadeshi, the autonomous economy and self-government, were taught on the ground oor of the building. The icon of the independence movement is a spinning wheel. There is still a spinning wheel in one of the rooms in the ground oor. According the Priyadashan it was already part of the house before he was born.
Basu Bati, Kolkata
05 / 03 / 16
Basu Bati in Kolkata. Photo: NKL 2017
Basu Bati, first and second floor, Kolkata
The historical Basu Bati at 65 Baghbazar Street, Kolkata was built in 1876 by the brothers, Nandalal and Pashupati Basu. The stunningly beautiful house was designed by Bengali engineer Nilmani Mitra. It has a massive Thakurdalan and is one of the few surviving buildings that are reminiscent of Bengali Renaissance art and motifs.
Apart from its architectural grandeur, what interested Kaabi-Linke to this site, is the history of the 140 year old building. The house has been integral to the Swadeshi Movement and has been witness to several historically significant events. Basu Bati saw the formation of the Swaraj Party, it housed Thakur Ramakrishna Paramahansa, sheltered several revolutionaries and held confiscated arms and amunition for the freedom struggle. Kasturba Gandhi inaugurated the first Swadeshi Mela on the grounds of this building. Prominent freedom fighter, Surendranath Banerjee gave lectures here during the Bengal Partition Movement (Banga Bhanga Andolan) and in 1905 led the formation of the National Fund, in the presence of Rabindranath Tagore.
Apart from its architectural grandeur, what interested Kaabi-Linke to this site, is the history of the 140 year old building. The house has been integral to the Swadeshi Movement and has been witness to several historically significant events. Basu Bati saw the formation of the Swaraj Party, it housed Thakur Ramakrishna Paramahansa, sheltered several revolutionaries and held confiscated arms and amunition for the freedom struggle. Kasturba Gandhi inaugurated the first Swadeshi Mela on the grounds of this building. Prominent freedom fighter, Surendranath Banerjee gave lectures here during the Bengal Partition Movement (Banga Bhanga Andolan) and in 1905 led the formation of the National Fund, in the presence of Rabindranath Tagore.
The Heike Mansion, East-Berlin
11 / 02 / 16
Second floor of the Heike Mansion. Photo: TiKL 2017
From the second floor of the Heike Mansion, East-Berlin
The "Villa Heike" in Hohenschoenhausen in the Eastern part of Berlin was built in 1910 by the industrial entrepreneur and machine fabricant Richard Heike. It was both, his residence and office. The building was not too damaged during World War II.After the war, the building was confiscated by the Soviet NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) and later handed over to the Ministry of State Security (MfS) of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The MfS or "Stasi" was considered the "Shield and Sword" of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The SED was the counter intelligence and secret police agency and turned the entire area around the Heike building into a "secure zone", a place so forbidden, that was even blanked out in the official mapping documents of the GDR.
Following the people’s uprising in 1953 in East-Germany, which was officially promulgated as a "fascist rebellion", the building was turned into an archive for documents from and about National Socialist era. It served the Stasi as a source of incriminating evidences to convict and blackmail political dissidents.
Following the people’s uprising in 1953 in East-Germany, which was officially promulgated as a "fascist rebellion", the building was turned into an archive for documents from and about National Socialist era. It served the Stasi as a source of incriminating evidences to convict and blackmail political dissidents.
