Renowned US photographer and artist Nan Goldin opened an exhibition of her work in Berlin with sharp criticism of Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza, provoking outrage from German politicians.
The 71-year-old Goldin is among the most renowned artists in contemporary photography, and Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) is dedicating a retrospective to her.
Goldin began her almost 14-minute speech at the opening on Friday evening with a four-minute pause of silence to remember victims of the conflict in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as civilians killed in Israel.
“I have decided to use this exhibition as a platform to amplify my position of moral outrage at the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon,” Goldin said.
‘What have you learned, Germany?’
She attacked Germany’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests during the war, and the treatment of artists and others who express harsh criticism of Israel. Many have seen exhibitions in Germany cancelled or faced other repercussions.
“Why can’t I speak Germany? Criticism of Israel has been conflated with anti-Semitism,” Goldin said on Friday. “Anti-Zionism has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.”
Goldin, who is Jewish, likened Israel’s conduct of the war and policy in the Palestinian territories to the brutal repression her ancestors faced in Europe.
“What have you learned, Germany? My grandparents escaped pogroms in Russia. I was brought up knowing about the Nazi Holocaust,” Goldin said. “What I see in Gaza reminds me of the pogroms that my grandparents escaped.”
“Never again means never again for everyone,” Goldin said, a reference to a phrase often used by Germans to refer to lessons of the Holocaust – and frequently cited as a key reason for Germany’s steadfast support for Israel.
German politicians ‘appalled’
On Saturday, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth denounced Goldin for her “unbearably one-sided political views” and said she was “appalled” at the way people in the audience chanted slogans like “Free Palestine” during counter-remarks by the museum’s director, Klaus Biesenbach.
The local Berlin culture minister, Joe Chialo, accused Goldin of “one-sidedness” and “obliviousness to history” with her remarks in Berlin, “the city in which the Holocaust was planned.”
“I do not share Nan Goldin’s position and find her statements unacceptable,” he said.
Biesenbach, who heads the Neue Nationalgalerie, responded in remarks that followed Goldin’s speech, saying that Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is beyond question and that the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas was an act of terrorism that cannot be justified.
Biesenbach said at the same time that sympathy should also be shown to the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
‘This is a war against children’
In her speech at the museum on Friday, Goldin noted that the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Thursday had issued arrest warrants on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for the military leader of Hamas.
“Are you afraid to hear this, Germany? This is a war against children,” said Goldin.
“The entire infrastructure of Palestine has been destroyed. The hospitals, the schools, the universities, the libraries. It’s also a cultural genocide. Why can’t you see this, Germany?”
Goldin’s speech was cheered by parts of the audience.
Goldin also denounced the way that German authorities have treated pro-Palestinian protesters in the country. She noted that Germany is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe – “yet protests are met with police dogs, deportations and stigmitization.”
Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Neue Nationalgalerie and numerous other museums in the German capital, also strongly condemned Goldin’s comments as well as the behaviour of supporters in the crowd.
“This is not our understanding of freedom of expression,” he said.
The major retrospective of Goldin’s work, entitled “This Will Not End Well,” is on display at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin until April 6, 2025.
The exhibition shows Goldin’s life’s work with slideshows and films, accompanied by music and soundtracks.
Culture Minister Roth on Saturday emphasized that she rejects calls for a boycott of the event and hopes for an open and civilized debate.
