The Ministry of Culture recently held a press conference presenting the photographs from the so-called Hoyer Collection—including three depicting some of the most dramatic moments of the execution of 200 Greeks in Kaisariani by Nazi occupation forces on May 1, 1944—and announcing the creation of a National Photographic Archive. At the press conference, in the presence of Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, the participants included four experts who traveled twice to Belgium to meet Tim de Craene, a collector-dealer, in order to assess the authenticity and legal provenance of the collection, as well as its significance and value. The collection was purchased for €100,000 with funds from the Ministry of Culture.

Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni presented a historical overview, from the initial discovery of the collection - comprising 262 photographs, 16 documents, and four old banknotes offered for sale by a Belgian collector on an online auction site - to the transfer of ownership of the collection to the Ministry of Culture and the Greek state.

National Photographic Archive

Minister Lina Mendoni stated that “with a legislative provision, the Ministry of Culture will establish a National Photographic Archive. It will constitute a distinct body within the National Archive of Monuments and will be interconnected with the other databases of the Directorate for the Management of the National Archive of Monuments”. She emphasized that, beyond the photographs of exceptional importance from Kaisariani and the Hoyer Collection, “there were many reasons why we wished to establish a National Photographic Archive. For example, there are the extremely significant photographic collections from Tatoi for our modern history; photographs of Greek refugees—archives that have already been handled by the Ministry of Culture and which will be housed in the Museum of Refugee Hellenism in Thessaloniki—as well as photographs from the historical archive of the Archaeological Service. The Ministry of Culture holds a large amount of material, and if the collections of the supervised institutions are also taken into account, there was every reason to create this distinct National Photographic Archive within the National Archive of Monuments.” 

Next steps

Regarding the next steps for the Hoyer Collection, L. Mendoni provided the following information: “The Ministry of Culture, since it has now declared the photographs as monuments - that is, they constitute a material monumental relic protected under Law - has already begun to handle the collection according to the procedure required for monuments: protection, conservation, safeguarding, scientific documentation, and ultimately its promotion and wider public presentation. The aim is for it to be used, like all the evidence of our historical and cultural heritage, in public discourse and in education. Throughout the study, what I insist on and what I have requested is strict scientific documentation and testimony. The photographs are monuments of our modern history, and this is how we will treat them. This period requires study and specialists who can address it,” the minister emphasized.

As was announced in the interview, the first step for the collection, after care by the competent Conservation Directorate, is the digitization of all the material. “Digital copies, under certain terms and conditions, may be provided by the Ministry of Culture to specific recipients. A necessary prerequisite is the historical identification of subjects, places, people, and dates, as well as the integration of the collection into its historical context. Obviously, the photographs of the execution will receive special treatment,” the Minister of Culture emphasized, noting that the research work has already been undertaken by the National Hellenic Research Foundation, within the framework of the Cultural Development Programmatic Agreement with the Ministry of Culture, under the scientific supervision of Mr. Schneider and his colleagues at the Foundation. “The collection is in very good condition. However, it is more than 80 years old, so it will require special care. What concerns us now is conservation, digitization, and management in order to protect the collection in the future,” said M. Mertzani, head of the Directorate for the Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments of the Ministry of Culture.

The Significance of the Collection

The head of the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, V. Fotopoulou, emphasizing the importance of the collection and noted: “We were certain from the beginning about the value, importance, and authenticity of the entire set of photographs, and thus - with the very decisive stance of the political leadership - we managed, within 13 days, to bring to completion a very difficult undertaking. We were very confident because we are historians and we know very well what these kinds of collections are photographs taken by soldiers of the Third Reich, the Wehrmacht, and the SS of Nazi Germany, which now circulate widely. We know what happened here. It is estimated that more than 40 million photographs were taken by Wehrmacht soldiers and over 2 million photographs by the propaganda units established by Joseph Goebbels.”

“It is important, first of all, that we study how these individuals were shaped within the context of war. The photographs taken by this particular sergeant, and by many others, are a study of how people are formed through violence. They are also a study of the power of propaganda. Goebbels created a propaganda machine not only with professional photographers from the propaganda units but also by encouraging everyone - soldiers and their families - to take photographs. Why? So that these photographs would return home and create an image of the successes of the Wehrmacht for families, so that in the future - because he was certain that Germany would win - there would be a vast album of memories from the Great War and what Germany had achieved in it. Of course, and fortunately, none of that ever came to pass,” she pointed out.

Photographer Stavros Mavrommatis noted that the “photographer” in quotation marks is completely untrained. “He has almost no instruction for documentation and is simply creating a personal album. He uses a very good camera and excellent photographic paper that was circulating at the time—from this we understood the authenticity of the photographs at first glance. Nevertheless, his photographs are poor in photographic terms; that is, he had no instruction to document events. Rather, he had the instruction to create an album that would show the activities of the Third Reich. He takes the photographs completely detached from what he is seeing—in the album, next to the images of the executions, he places photographs of people swimming at Votsalakia Beach in Piraeus. This is precisely another reason why these photographs have particular value, because they show that they were taken not by explicit order, but in accordance with the spirit that prevailed among the occupation troops,” said.

Valentin Schneider, historian and researcher at the National Hellenic Research Foundation stressed that “these are photographs that have a hybrid character, because on the one hand they are private photographs, documenting private life in the army and during the war. On the other hand, however, it seems that there may have been some low-level instruction, perhaps at the level of the military unit itself, to document the everyday life of the unit so that photographs could be exchanged after the war.”

Valentin Schneider presented several characteristic photographs from the Hoyer Collection, including the 13 images from Kaisariani, three of which were the most dramatic, as they depict the moment of the execution and the minutes immediately afterward.

(Source: https://www.ertnews.gr/eidiseis/ellada/kaisariani-parousiastikan-oi-istorikes-fotografies-apo-tin-ektelesi-ton-200/ )

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About 100 years ago, Greek photographer Elli Souyioultzoglou-Seraidari (1899-1998), –better known by her professional name of Nelly's, visited Santorini (Thira) and captured the island’s daily life and landscapes through her camera lens. Her black-and-white photographs reveal the uniqueness of the Aegean landscape, skillfully playing with light, shadow and the geometry of volumes. From approximately 200 glass negatives that Nelly’s captured during her regular summer visits to the island (1928-1932), 40 themes were selected and are now presented as contemporary digital prints at the exhibition “Nelly’s: Santorini between the Wars” at the Kastelana Photography Centre in the medieval village of Pyrgos (cover pohoto: Nelly’s, Santorini 1928-1932 ©Benaki Museum/Photographic Archives).

The exhibition is co-organized by the Benaki Museum and the Kastelana Photography Centre, under the auspices of the Municipality of Thira and is part of the initiative "Santorini 2025: Year of Promotion and Support of Authenticity", aiming to emphasize the island's unique cultural identity and sustainable future.

The exhibition “Nelly’s: Santorini between the Wars” is curated by Aliki Tsirigialou, Head of the Benaki Museum Photographic Archives, and Tonia Noussia, Architect – Museologist, Founder of the Kastelana Photography Centre. Almost a hundred years later, Nelly’s images return to their birthplace creating a dialogue with the changed space of today's Santorini.

Nelly’s, Santorini 1928-1932 ©Benaki Museum / Photographic Archives

Nelly’s visited Thera for the first time in the summer of 1928, at the urging of her sister Maro Sougioultzoglou and her Santorinian husband Spyridon A. Malaspina. The steep volcanic landscape and the island’s unique architecture immediately attracted her interest. The dark shades of lava and the deep blue of the sea are harmoniously balanced, in tones of white and black, with the dazzling Aegean light as it reflects on the surface of houses. The curves outlined by the shadows on the buildings, the arches in the picturesque streets, the domes of the churches, but also the morphology of the terrain itself, are made manifest in her compositions. The human presence is discreet, so much so that the island seems deserted. The few elderly women and children who appear in her photographs have been placed deliberately, serving her iconographic style. (Source: Benaki Museum, Kastelana Photography Centre)

Nelly’s, Santorini 1928-1932 ©Benaki Museum / Photographic Archives

From the medieval settlement of Pyrgos where the family stayed at the time, Nelly's toured the island, camera in hand. She walked along the cliffs of caldera, highlighting the awe-inspiring volcanic landscape. She stood in front of Skaros Rock in Imerovigli, capturing the vertical layers of the rocks with the texture and colors of the geological formations. She walked on the black sand beach of Kamari and observed the fluid continuity of land and sea. She followed the path to Mount Profitis Ilias and captured the expanse and vastness of the landscape, and she also wandered the cobbled streets of Pyrgos and Fira, where she recorded the life of human presence and absence.

Nelly’s, Santorini 1928-1932 ©Benaki Museum / Photographic Archives

It is noteworthy that Nelly's visit to Santorini coincided with the discovery of Cycladic architecture by the pioneers of modernism. The charm of the island landscape that influenced Le Corbusier and other important architects of the time was captured in a unique way by Nelly's lens, creating a valuable testimony to the evolution of aesthetic perception in the 20^th century. Unlike her contemporary European photographers such as Herbert List or Henri Cartier-Bresson, who sought the "exotic" element in Greek landscapes, Nelly's approached the place with a deep understanding of its cultural identity. (Source: Benaki Museum, Kastelana Photography Centre)

In the summer of 1956, a major earthquake in the region of Amorgos struck the island of Santorini, causing significant damage to houses and infrastructure. We owe much of our knowledge of the island’s pre-earthquake appearance to its extensive recording by Nelly’s.

Nelly’s, Santorini 1928-1932 ©Benaki Museum / Photographic Archives

Nelly’s, Santorini 1928-1932 ©Benaki Museum / Photographic Archives

Nelly's (1899–1998), was a pioneering Greek photographer originally from Asia Minor. Influenced early on by German photographic masters, she developed a classical aesthetic marked by freedom and movement. After establishing her studio in Athens in 1924, she focused on Greek subjects, capturing portraits of interwar Athenian society and Greek immigrants in the USA. Between 1927 and World War II, Nelly’s traveled extensively across Greece, documenting its people, landscapes, and ancient monuments, helping shape Greece’s visual identity in tourism. Known for her innovative use of natural light and thematic cohesion, she later worked in the USA, expanding into advertising and street photography. Nelly’s legacy remains influential for both its artistic quality and cultural significance.

In 1984, Nelly’s donated her entire archive, comprising over 50,000 negatives and 20,000 original prints, to the Benaki Museum Photographic Archives, contributing significantly to the preservation and dissemination of Greek photographic heritage.

Kastelana is a Photography Centre housed in a three storey listed building, part of the original gateway into Kasteli, Pyrgos medieval fortification. The aim of the Centre is to host photography exhibitions from contemporary or archival sources as well as giving the opportunity to visiting artists to show their work to the public. The administration and care of the collection of photographs by Antonis Lagadas is also one of the primary aims of the Centre.

The interior of the space remains unaltered over many centuries and together with the original furniture provides a setting for the appreciation of a typical house within the fortification, while the outside offers stunning views of the island. At the ground floor café, visitors can enjoy a range of Santorini gastronomic specialties.

Panoramic view of Pyrgos Kasteli (Castle) (Photo: santorini-view.com). It was one of the five castles built by the Venetians in the 15^th century (the other ones were those of Akrotiri, Skaros, Aghios Nikolaos in Oia and Emporio). It followed the style of a settlement fortification with a subsequent yard: around the core, in the centre of which there was a tower initially and a church at a later stage, a fortification yard was later developed, consisting of the external walls of the houses. In its centre stood the small square with the churches of Panagia and Aghios Georgios. Around the square, four more residential pockets were developed, while the (now demolished) public bakery stood to the north. (Source: santorinipyrgos.com)

The medieval village of Pyrgos is 7.5 km to the east of Fira and recently, it has become a significant attraction of the island. Built at the foot of Mesa Vouno, it is one of the most beautiful settlements of Santorini and stands out from a distance along many of the routes visitors can follow. In 1995, Pyrgos was declared a “preserved monument” by UNESCO.

The visitor steps back in time wandering through the charming paths of Kasteli in Pyrgos (Photo: santorini-view.com).

Dozens of visitors come every day at Pyrgos, surrounded by whitewashed churches and vineyards with their typical Santorinian vines (Photo: santorini.gr). They go up to the castle, explore the cobbled streets with the Cycladic and the neoclassical buildings, many of which have been rebuilt, drink coffee or soft drinks at coffee shops, enjoy their lunch or dinner at the settlement’s restaurants and taverns, see the sunset over the caldera at the top of the castle or on the terraces of the winery of the island’s Wine Producers Association, visit the museum of Aghia Triada, and do their shopping at the village’s shops. (Source: santorinipyrgos.com)

Timeless architecture and rugged beauty, exploring the historic Pyrgos Kasteli (Photo: santorini-view.com)

Santorini 2025: Year of Promotion and Support of Authenticity

Read more:

Idyllic interwar Crete through Thalia Kalligianni’s naïve art and Nelly’s camera

Greek Seas: A photographic journey in time

The archaeological site of Akrotiri on Santorini | The Pompeii of the Aegean

Santorini Volcano Mobile App

Art meets Tourism in Santorini

Santorini’s Atlantis Books Tops National Geographic’s List

Cherry Tomato: A Lavish Product Made in Santorini

I.A.

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Since 1982, documentary photographer Effy Alexakis and her partner and historian, Leonard Janiszewski, have dedicated their research to exploring the historical and contemporary presence of Greek-Australians, both within Australia and abroad. Their national project and archive ‘In Their Own Image: Greek Australians’ encompasses visual, oral and literary material ad memorabilia and is recognised as one of the largest collections of Greek-Australian material in the country.

In 2022 Alexakis accessed her vast archive on the Greek-Australian experience and selected one contemporary image, together with its associated story, to represent each year since 1982. Her aim was to reveal the changing face of Greek-Australians. “At the start of my photographic documentary project it was important for me to capture the evolving public declarations of ‘Greekness’ within the Australian context – essentially a hybridised, communal cultural identity fusing selective aspects of British Australia with particular elements of Hellenic heritage and tradition,” Alexakis said about the process.

Each photograph evidenced salient aspects significant to the personal journey of the photographer and her evolving understanding of her community and heritage – both within Australia and overseas – and in so doing, provides a unique visual insight into the ongoing story of one of the most emblematic sociocultural groups within the flux and challenges of a contemporary multicultural society. “What these forty images represent is a very personal account. They include people I admire – often everyday people who have achieved and continue to accomplish remarkable things – and issues and themes of importance to me and, hopefully, also of importance to others”, Alexakis adds.

Greek National Day (Sydney, 1984)

As the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis, stated during the presentation of the book, “through this photographic timeline, it is evident that Effy Alexakis wants to show the evolution and the changing face of Greek-Australians. From the milk bars and the Greeks at work, which we see in the first photographs, we end up in 2018 with a portrait of Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson. This is the incredible story of Greek Australians. In one generation, the children of largely poor Greeks who left from a ravaged from successive wars country to a new homeland, 15,000 kms away, in search of ‘a better life’ have excelled in their fields of work, becoming successful professionals in so many different domains”.

The exquisitely designed hardcover book features Alexakis' ongoing documentary work and personal photographic aesthetic, an introductory text by the photographer, and two engaging essays offering insights into the national significance of her visual journey – the first essay is written by Richard Neville, Mitchell Librarian, State Library of NSW; the second by historian and project partner, Leonard Janiszewski.

In the words of Effy Alexakis, “It is hard for me to comprehend that this is my 40th year on this journey in our documentation of Greeks in Australia and the diaspora. Leonard and I have made lifelong friendships and numerous important discoveries along the way – about ourselves, about Greek‑Australians, and about the complexity of the ever-changing world that surrounds us”.

A.R.

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German photographer and filmmaker Alexander Jaschik was born on the 18th of August 1989 in Munich. In 2009 he started studying Directing in the field of movies & television at Macromedia Academy for Media and Communication and finished with a Bachelor of Arts in 2012.

He wrote & directed the short film Jean in 2012. He wrote & directed the short Bread & Olives in 2014. In 2015 he moved to Athens, Greece and started the photography & weblog projects The Doors of Athens & Small Stories of Athens. He works as director, screenwriter, photographer, blogger and drone operator.

Alexander first came to Greece in late 2013 for a short film project and quickly fell in love with the Mediterranean lifestyle. He came back in 2015 and ended up living here, marrying a Greek woman and having a daughter.

Our sister German-language publication, Griechenland Aktuell, publiched an interview with Alexander Jaschik on his relationship with Greece and the projects he has taken up here, some excerpts of which follow below.

What fascinates you most about our country: the people, the nature, the cities, the way of life?

There are many things that fascinate me about Greece. It is an incredibly diverse country, especially in terms of landscapes, there is so much to discover, each place has its own history and tradition. Compared to Germany, Greece is less impersonal, it is easier to talk to strangers, and I find that there is a more developed community and helpfulness factor through "shared experience".

I like the summer and the sea, the music and the art, I think especially for someone who does audiovisual projects like me, Greece is an incredibly diverse and photogenic country; everything that I deal with culturally also interests me. I want to understand the interconnections and continue to learn a lot about and from Greece.

Which are the things you find more and less attractive in the city of Athens?

Modern Athens is, as I noticed early on, a city of striking contrasts: the old and the new, the poor and the rich, light and dark. I like the different neighborhoods with their different features, their little hidden places. I like the fact that Athens is a historical city, but with new things to discover all the time. I would say I am someone who has made it a point to really explore Athens, but even after 8 years there are still places in the greater Athens area that I have never been to. I like the (unfortunately too few) parks that Athens has.

I like that it is close to the sea and surrounded by mountains. Also Athens is a city that never sleeps, in Munich almost no one is out after 10 in the evening.

What I don't like is that Athens could have two rivers and doesn't have them anymore (or to a very limited extent), that there is much less green space for a city of this size and in this location (Lekanopedio), the many air conditioners in summer and the excessive use of the fireplace in winter.

Tell us about your project "Small Stories of Athens". On the Facebook page of "Small Stories of Athens" you focused on people, among other things. What was special about them or what did they have in common? Do you think that people who live in Athens or would like to live there are different in some respects from people who live in other cities, for example in Germany?

The Athenians certainly have a few things in common: They are very seasoned and resilient people who, for the most part, are not easily ruffled. As also mentioned above, there is a greater sense of community, which is of course much stronger in the countryside. What helps is that it's easier to get into conversation with strangers, which just makes them less of a stranger. In addition, I sometimes see here more understanding and interest for fellow human beings (in the social sense). For example, if one doesn’t have the exact sum for a small purchase, they might be allowed to just pay the rest of the money some other time, or even just let it slip; you wouldn’t easily see that in Munich even for regular customers. I have met a lot of people here, from all different walks of life and I am grateful for that and want it to stay that way.

"Small Stories of Athens" has been a project close to my heart and I find it a bit sad that it is more or less on hold at the moment; since it's not a commercial project, I couldn't pay anyone for the work needed, like the translation of texts from Greek, so I can only run this project sporadically.

Your project "The Doors of Athens" was extremely original and interesting. What inspired you to take it up? What was the public's reaction? Do you think that this project also helped Athenians discover and re-evaluate aspects of their city that they had never noticed before?

When I started living here I took a lot of walks and bike rides to get to know the city better. From the start, I noticed that the doors here are different from those in Germany. Also, in Munich there is no a uniform architectural style like there is in Athens. I think it was important for me to point out this difference. Still, with time, I noticed there are so many different designs. I try to sort the doors by categories, which I came up with. I sort the photos by neighborhood, style, color, daytime/nighttime etc and try to always present three doors of one category on Instagram. If you look on Instagram and try to find other "Doors of" accounts from other parts of the world, I have to say that Greece has some of the most interesting ones, and I consider myself lucky to be here.

The reaction of the public has always been positive; a small community has developed, people send me their photos and friends tell me that whenever they see a beautiful door, they think of me. I find that beautiful.

For my project, I am mainly interested in the cast iron doors of one or two-story buildings, mostly single-family houses, in the neighborhoods located around the center, such as Petralona, Moschato or Akadimia Platonos. I notice that many of the houses I photograph are empty and I think the last few years a new construction boom has started which unfortunately will gradually replace many houses and therefore doors.

The "Doors of Athens" project also generated a lot of interest from the Greek media. Why do you think that is?

The collection is certainly one of the largest of its kind, besides it is a perfect project for Instagram, created at the right time in the right place, due to the fact that it is uniformly focused on a specific theme. Moreover, it happens to everyone in their day-today lives, you encounter many doors that you open or that you see on your way.

Did you intend for your projects to also act as a kind of invitation for other artists or visitors to discover our country?

I think if you embrace Greece, then Greece embraces you. Conversely, I can imagine that it can be more problematic with a different attitude. Everyone who likes to come should come, but the best places and secret favorite places everyone must discover for themselves.

Do you think Athens could become an international center for artistic creativity, dialogue and interaction, or is its potential limited compared to that of other European cities?

Athens is already historically a center for artistic creation (and I think it's great that there are events in ancient Greek amphitheaters like the Epidaurus or the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens) but especially the contemporary art scene in Athens is very active, there are events, happenings, and I don't think that the potential is limited compared to that of other cities. On the contrary, since many people here have experienced one crisis after another, there is of course the need to process this in some way; I think there are many people here who have something to say.

What are your plans for the future?

There are many places in the world I would like to see. I also want to explore more of Greece, I have never been to Meteora and to most of Northern/Eastern Greece, and in general I would like to see as many islands as possible. My favorites so far are: Kythira, Ikaria, Crete, Lefkada. High on my to-do list are: Amorgos, Alonissos, Kefalonia, Samothrace, Lesbos, Chios and many more.

Translation / Editing of abridged version: N.M. Photos courtesy of Alexander Jaschik and also from his official website

Read also via Greek News Agenda: Photography: W. Mark Wilman on "Discovering the Beauty of the Cyclades"; Photography in Greece | Yiorgis Yerolymbos on the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center and the Greek urban landscape; Fred Boissonnas in Greece and the Mediterranean

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