The Museum Haus des Papiers organizes and presents the international photo festival Kommunikation und Haltung, featuring 16 exhibitions across Berlin, Chemnitz, and Basel. The KVOST SchauFenster is part of the festival and is showing works by the renowned photojournalist Thomas Billhardt.
KVOST SchauFenster . THOMAS BILLHARDT . Spartakiade
The KVOST window display is illuminated daily from 2 - 10 pm.
Thomas Billhardt (1937–2025) is considered one of the most important chroniclers of the GDR’s complex history.
His series “Spartakiade” documents the large-scale sporting events held in 1978 in Halle, where thousands of children and teenagers demonstrated their athletic abilities in choreographed competitions, while simultaneously becoming part of a political spectacle.
The Defense Spartakiad of the GST (Society for Sport and Technology) was more than a sports festival: it was part of a system that linked physical discipline with state ideology. In a society where collective identity was placed above the individual, the GDR used sport as a tool to shape “socialist personalities.” Athletic performance served not only physical development but also symbolized the state’s resilience.
Billhardt’s photographs reflect this tension—between pride and pressure, community and control, spontaneity and staging. His images capture young people in moments of effort, anticipation, and exhaustion. Beyond their documentary value, they also invite reflection on current developments.
Even in stable democracies, questions of resilience, societal preparedness, and civic education are becoming increasingly relevant. Debates around the introduction of self-defense classes, emergency drills, or military-style programs in schools raise fundamental questions about how a democratic society should respond to internal and external threats.
The presentation at KVOST SchauFenster links a historical perspective on authoritarian practices with today’s search for democratic forms of self-assertion.
