Stored in a wooden transport crate, the bomb seems like a commercially available object to be transported over a long distance. Jana Želibská (Czech Republic) sculpture group under Plexiglas unites withered wood, raven figures and a metal skull to form an allegory of death. IRWIN from Slovenia uses the pedestal as a kind of advertising pillar bearing the inscription “Time for a new state. Some say you can find happiness there.” The red paint poured over the wooden block of the Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch reminds of the brutality of war. Jean Boghossian (Armenia) has divided the block into two halves, which stand opposite one another, contrary but appropriately: “These two worlds have the possibility to adapt perfectly to one another, in order to form a world of harmony and peace. Presented separately and facing one another, they observe these worlds reciprocally, but because their edges appear threatening, they evoke premises of aggression and conflict.”

“The variety of forms of expression were important to us when selecting the artists”, says curator Mattijs Visser. “Several works have strong connections with the horrors of war, while others express hope and freedom.” The reference to the historical locations is especially important to the osnabrücker Volker-Johannes Trieb, who initiated the project. He would like to create a consciousness, both for the far-reaching historical event, as well as for its consequences, which extend into the present. The “1914/1918 – Not Then, Not Now, Not Ever” exhibition can be viewed in the context of guided tours through the German Bundestag from 10 November 2018 to 6 January 2019. It will then subsequently be shown in cooperation with the UN in its New York headquarters, and should set an example for peaceful coexistence without violence.