Renowned American photographer and artist Nan Goldin opened an exhibition of her work in Berlin with sharp criticism of Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, sparking 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 devoting a retrospective to her.
Goldin began her nearly 14-minute opening speech on Friday evening with a four-minute silence to remember the victims of the conflict in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as the civilians killed in Israel.
“I have decided to use this exhibition as a platform to strengthen my position of moral outrage over 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 its treatment of artists and others who express harsh criticism of Israel. Many have seen exhibitions in Germany canceled or facing other consequences.
“Why can’t I speak German? Criticism of Israel has become conflated with anti-Semitism,” Goldin said on Friday. “Anti-Zionism has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.”
Goldin, who is Jewish, compared Israel’s warfare and policies in the Palestinian territories to the brutal repression her ancestors faced in Europe.
“What have you learned, Germany? My grandparents escaped the pogroms in Russia. I grew up knowing about the Nazi holocaust,” Goldin said. “What I see in Gaza reminds me of the pogroms 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 from the Holocaust – and often cited as a key reason for Germany’s steadfast support of Israel.
German politicians ‘shocked’
On Saturday, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth slammed Goldin for her “unbearably one-sided political views” and said she was “shocked” at the way people in the crowd chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine” during counter-remarks by the director of the museum. Klaus Biesenbach.
Local Berlin Culture Minister Joe Chialo accused Goldin of “one-sidedness” and “obliviousness to history” with her comments in Berlin, “the city where the Holocaust was planned.”
“I do not share Nan Goldin’s position and find her statements unacceptable,” he said.
Biesenbach, head of the Neue Nationalgalerie, responded in remarks following 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 was terrorism. that cannot be justified.
Biesenbach said at the same time that sympathy must also be shown for the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
‘This is a war on children’
In her speech at the museum on Friday, Goldin noted that the International Criminal Court in The Hague had issued arrest warrants on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas’s military leader.
‘Are you afraid to hear this, Germany? This is a war on children,” Goldin said.
“The entire infrastructure of Palestine has been destroyed. The hospitals, the schools, the universities, the libraries. It is 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 German authorities have treated pro-Palestinian protesters in the country. She noted that Germany is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe – “but protests are met with police dogs, deportations and stigmatization.”
Hermann Parzinger, the chairman 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 and the behavior 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’, can be seen at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin until April 6, 2025.
The exhibition shows Goldin’s life’s work through slide shows and films, accompanied by music and soundtracks.
Culture Minister Roth emphasized on Saturday that she rejects calls for a boycott of the event and hopes for an open and civil debate.
