“Aus Schutt und Asche“ / “Graz baut auf“ Anonymous, around 1950

“Graz Is Building Up”

The first years after the war were marked by reconstruction. The Municipality of Graz commissioned two series of images which were to depict the achievements of the municipal administration in the reconstruction of the city and the supply of the population. In “Aus Schutt und Asche“ (Made of Devastation), pictures of bomb damage are dominant but reconstruction is already depicted as an opportunity. Confidence takes centre stage in the second series, “Graz baut auf“ (Graz is building up): it shows childcare facilities, schools, and residential buildings under construction.