Stolen Heart Video Map

Practice Area

Client

Leo Baeck Institute

  1. The video map was designed to be integrated with other exhibition elements including panels, artifacts and interactives that outline the journeys of the five families.

  2. Special considerations were made because the projection is viewed from two directions in the space simultaneously and the entire exhibit space serves as the theater for the film.

  3. The topographical map was created by CNC filigree and 3-D printed scale buildings were placed, representing the few pre-war structures left standing.

  4. In the Stolen Heart Video Map, topographic and time-lapse elements mix with stylistic color tints and a custom musical score to create a somber yet inspiring mood.

  5. The video map illustrates the expropriation of homes and businesses in Berlin, detailing the properties in context with aerial views of the city center from 1933 to present day.

  6. The video is projected via a single BrightSign 4K media player and mapped onto a 1:1500-scale model of Mitte.

Project Vision

The Stolen Heart Video Map, a three-dimensional projection map, is the signature element of the small but powerful exhibition “Stolen Heart: The Theft of Jewish Property in Berlin’s Historic Center, 1933–1945.” The exhibition and map by C&G Partners track the expropriation of Jewish homes and business by state-sponsored Aryanization during the Third Reich in Berlin. The exhibition was adapted from the exhibition “Geraubte Mitte: Die Arisierung des jüdischen Grundeigentums im Berliner Stadtkern 1933–1945,” which opened at the Berlin Stadtmuseum in 2013. Stolen Heart follows the rise of Jewish business and property owners in Berlin during the 19th century, as well as the crucial economic, cultural, scientific and philanthropic contributions they made until the 1930s, after which Jewish-owned homes and business were confiscated and used by the Nazis for various war-related purposes such as the production of the Yellow Star of David, storage for degenerate art and testing facilities for gassing and euthanasia methods.

The expropriation narrative is illustrated through five prominent Jewish families whose Berlin properties were snatched. The looping video portion of the map features the homes and properties in context with historically accurate, aerial views of Berlin’s city center from 1933 to present day; each era receives a distinct graphic treatment. The narratives of the five families are woven into the Video Map through archival images and texts. Topographic and time-lapse elements mix with stylistic color tints and a custom musical score to create a somber yet inspiring mood. Using a custom beam, the Video Map is projected onto a 3D-printed 1:1500 scale model of Mitte, Berlin’s vibrant center of culture and commerce. Printed on CNC filigree, the relief map was based on extensive architectural surveys that demarcated pre-World War II buildings.

Project Details
Design Team

Jonathan Alger (Art Director), Kelsey Cohen (Graphic Designer), Greg Mulholland (Multimedia designer); Darion Washington (Exhibit Designer), Joao Miranda (Graphic Designer), Clara Kennedy (Musician)

Project Area

700 sq ft

Consultants

Mode & Geschichte, Berlin Mitte Archiv, Stadtforschung Berlin

Fabricators

Exhibitology