Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig proudly presents 80 photographs, five photo series and 50 cartoons that document and comment on political events in the past year – in the feature “Rückblende 2017”. The competition for the best political photographs and cartoons in Germany is organized by Landesvertretung Rheinland-Pfalz and Bundesverband Deutscher Zeitungsverleger and is now in its 34th year.
German federal election, four state elections, concerns about the European Union and increasing populism – these are only some of the topics that the jury members selected for the comprehensive retrospective on the political and cultural year of 2017. The G20 Summit is the subject of various submissions. Andreas Herzau wins the Award for press photography: His shot of a police operation "in the spotlight" on the roof of a house in Hamburg's "Schanzenviertel" district was voted "Best Photo 2017".
Miriam Wurster, who wins the first prize in the category Cartoons, deals with the same topic. Her drawing "Special Task Force at the G20 Summit: The De-Escalating Dog Squadron" portrays policemen who face the rampaging G20 opponents with dog puppies. For the first time, the prize "Best Series" is awarded. It goes to freelance photographer Hannes Jung for his "New Right" picture series from the election campaign of the far-right party AfD.
The number of participants in "Rückblende 2017" exceeds the record levels of previous years: In total, 240 photojournalists and 67 cartoonists submitted 1,533 entries to this year's competition.
All the entries can be found at www.rueckblende.rlp.de.