I LOVED MY WIFE (killing children is good for the economy)
A touching photobook on one of the saddest pages in the second world war in Europe: the organised killing of tens of thousands of children and adults in hospitals and psychiatric institutions for the sake of saving money. This was labelled as Aktion T4 and the term “euthanasia” and “mercy killing” was used.
The artist visited 16 of these sites in Austria and made in situ images of the grounds and buildings. He combined this with fascinating stills from propaganda movies promoting the idea of forced euthanasia and with two digital collages of responsibles.
The result is a dark poetic view on Austria and Europe. At the same time the individual images come without explanation in order to manipulate - like propaganda - how the reader reads the image based on assocations he makes. Every image is true, but will often read in a wrong way.
With texts from Joachim Naudts, curator of the FoMu (museum of photography, Antwerp, Belgium), Dr. Erik Thys (Museum Dr. Ghuislain) and Dr. Herwig Czech (University of Vienna).
Published in 2017 by Lecturis. ISBN 978-94-6226-220-1
Softcover book with booklet in a two-pocket folder.
Every book is manually finished by the artist: signing of a red cross on the cover (red crosses were used to indicate patients to be eliminated), stamp on the booklet.
112 pages, 61 images + booklet (24 pages)
20 × 25 cm
Photography & concept: Dieter De Lathauwer
Design: Dieter De Lathauwer & Nick Lambrecht
Prepress: Sebastiaan Hanekroot
Printing: Wilco Art Books (Netherlands)
REVIEWS
by Robin Titchener: here.
by Gabriela Cendoya-Bergareche: here.
by Conscientious Photography Magazine here.
by GUP Magazine here
by Mark Power, Magnum:
“
This book isn’t an easy read, on many levels.
‘I LOVED MY WIFE (killing children is good for the economy)’ by @dieterdelathauwer(Lecturis, 2017) comes in a pink folder containing a softback book and a dense text pamphlet. The former contains only images, including photographs made by De Lathauwer in the grounds of 16 psychiatric institutions in Austria where, during the Second World War, the Nazis exterminated up to 140,000* children and adults who had been diagnosed incurably ill.
Interwoven with these ‘straight’ photographs are a couple of collaged portraits of two of the chief protagonists and numerous film stills taken from propaganda movies intended to demonstrate to the German public that the cost of institutional care was too great, given a “lack of any contribution back to society”.
In the accompanying booklet three essays discuss, in great detail, this Nazi programme of euthanasia, which they called AKTION T4. Reading the text is extremely disturbing, believe me. I learned, for instance, that during WW2 approximately 400,000 German citizens presenting serious or long-term psychiatric issues were surgically made infertile by Nazi doctors. Thousands died in the process. In addition, T4 preceded the holocaust, and lessons learned from it were carried forward to a programme even worse, and on an industrial scale.
The resulting images are dark and foreboding and come without explanation of how they are to be viewed. As De Lathauwer states on his website, “Every image is true, but will often be read in the wrong way”.
One further point of interest: the red cross drawn on the cover of the book replicates those used to indicate the fate of a patient on their file. It signified those to be eliminated.
This is probably not something you’ll want to wake up to on a Sunday morning, so please forgive me. But the book is really very good, and keeps a little-known history alive. I’ve had my copy for seven years and it always gives me something new.”
A touching photobook on one of the saddest pages in the second world war in Europe: the organised killing of tens of thousands of children and adults in hospitals and psychiatric institutions for the sake of saving money. This was labelled as Aktion T4 and the term “euthanasia” and “mercy killing” was used.
The artist visited 16 of these sites in Austria and made in situ images of the grounds and buildings. He combined this with fascinating stills from propaganda movies promoting the idea of forced euthanasia and with two digital collages of responsibles.
The result is a dark poetic view on Austria and Europe. At the same time the individual images come without explanation in order to manipulate - like propaganda - how the reader reads the image based on assocations he makes. Every image is true, but will often read in a wrong way.
With texts from Joachim Naudts, curator of the FoMu (museum of photography, Antwerp, Belgium), Dr. Erik Thys (Museum Dr. Ghuislain) and Dr. Herwig Czech (University of Vienna).
Published in 2017 by Lecturis. ISBN 978-94-6226-220-1
Softcover book with booklet in a two-pocket folder.
Every book is manually finished by the artist: signing of a red cross on the cover (red crosses were used to indicate patients to be eliminated), stamp on the booklet.
112 pages, 61 images + booklet (24 pages)
20 × 25 cm
Photography & concept: Dieter De Lathauwer
Design: Dieter De Lathauwer & Nick Lambrecht
Prepress: Sebastiaan Hanekroot
Printing: Wilco Art Books (Netherlands)
REVIEWS
by Robin Titchener: here.
by Gabriela Cendoya-Bergareche: here.
by Conscientious Photography Magazine here.
by GUP Magazine here
by Mark Power, Magnum:
“
This book isn’t an easy read, on many levels.
‘I LOVED MY WIFE (killing children is good for the economy)’ by @dieterdelathauwer(Lecturis, 2017) comes in a pink folder containing a softback book and a dense text pamphlet. The former contains only images, including photographs made by De Lathauwer in the grounds of 16 psychiatric institutions in Austria where, during the Second World War, the Nazis exterminated up to 140,000* children and adults who had been diagnosed incurably ill.
Interwoven with these ‘straight’ photographs are a couple of collaged portraits of two of the chief protagonists and numerous film stills taken from propaganda movies intended to demonstrate to the German public that the cost of institutional care was too great, given a “lack of any contribution back to society”.
In the accompanying booklet three essays discuss, in great detail, this Nazi programme of euthanasia, which they called AKTION T4. Reading the text is extremely disturbing, believe me. I learned, for instance, that during WW2 approximately 400,000 German citizens presenting serious or long-term psychiatric issues were surgically made infertile by Nazi doctors. Thousands died in the process. In addition, T4 preceded the holocaust, and lessons learned from it were carried forward to a programme even worse, and on an industrial scale.
The resulting images are dark and foreboding and come without explanation of how they are to be viewed. As De Lathauwer states on his website, “Every image is true, but will often be read in the wrong way”.
One further point of interest: the red cross drawn on the cover of the book replicates those used to indicate the fate of a patient on their file. It signified those to be eliminated.
This is probably not something you’ll want to wake up to on a Sunday morning, so please forgive me. But the book is really very good, and keeps a little-known history alive. I’ve had my copy for seven years and it always gives me something new.”
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Grand Prix Photofestival Lodz, Poland, 2018, finalist.
Boutographies fotofestival Montpellier France 2018, finalist.
Best photobook of 2017 according to Mark Power (Magnum),
Tamara Berghmans (Museum of Photography Antwerp), Robin Thitchener (collector), Gabriela Cendoya (collector), Viory Schellekens (collector), Olmo Gonzalez Moriana (organisator Fiebre festival Spain) and Tono Arias (bookshop).
Longlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2018.
Photobook Author Award 2017, Arles, shortlist.
Best photobooks of the Year 2017, Kassel Photobookfestival.
Winner of the Unseen Dummy Award 2016, Amsterdam.
DocField Dummy Award Barcelona - special mention of the jury.
Kassel Dummy Awards - shortlist.
Riga Dummy Award 2017, finalist.
Photobookstore.co.uk recommended.
Jörg Colberg review: recommended.
Jörg Colberg review: recommended.
Mark Power (Magnum): highly recommended.
