Shaping the Visual under National Socialism

In our research project, we investigate the visual culture in Austrian print media during the period of National Socialism between 1938 and 1945. We will undertake a long overdue survey of the Austrian (press)photography scene and professional networks under National Socialism and biographical research on its protagonists. The results will be made publicly accessible in a biographical database, in which media networks can also be visualized. Another focus of the project is the study of visual propaganda. Which media networks and channels were set up by those responsible and how were they used to obtain and publish the desired images? To answer these questions, we will create a large image pool of contemporary Austrian press photographs between 1938 and 1945 and evaluate them using quantitative methods from the digital humanities. For the first time, research will be undertaken on the circulation of stocks of Jewish or "Aryanized" photo agencies in the illustrated press between 1938 und 1945. Based on the systematized image pool, we will then conduct case studies on selected topics as well as on specific political events. We will apply qualitative methods from art history and image studies to analyze propagandistic strategies as well as formal characteristics of the press images.