The flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic and the formation of the very first coalition of SPD, FDP and Greens after the federal elections: These are the dominant subjects of the photos and caricatures submitted for the “Rückblende 2021” competition. You can see a selection of them in our exhibition at the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig.

The first prize in the category “Political Photography” was won by photographers from “DOCKS Collective”. The photo shows rescue workers in boats searching for survivors of the flooding at night in the Ahr valley. Without electricity and mobile reception, trapped people cannot call for help. Some send SOS signals from their roofs with mobile phones and torches.

The winning cartoon 2021 was drawn by Heiko Sakurai. It shows the new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz with the physiognomy and the “rhombus” hand gesture of Angela Merkel. The former Chancellor can be seen in the background as a shadow in front of a window. The scene evokes associations of the film “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock.

Other winners include Christof Stache, who was awarded for his series “Flood Disaster”, which shows, for example, a destroyed connecting road to the village of Mayschoß.

The “Rückblende” competition is organised by the State Representation of Rhineland-Palatinate and the German Newspaper Publishers and Digitalpublishers Association in cooperation with the Federal Press Conference.
You can find a complete overview of all entries at www.rueckblende.rlp.de (in German).