Since January 2018 the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship is in the process of acquiring the user rights for non-commercial purposes of approximately 6.000 digitalised photographs from the private collection of Harald Hauswald.
Currently, the foundation included in its digital archive 2.275 digitalised photos and it aims at 2020 to create a complete digital archive of the works of the artist. The current digitalised material includes photos that cover various snapshots of everyday life in East-Berlin starting from the 1970s until the beginning of the 1990s. The themes cover issues such as youth culture and church, people and alternative lifestyle, neighborhoods in East-Berlin and its crumbling architecture among many others.
The process of digitalisation is currently carried out by the Association Ost-Kreuz whose purpose is to ensure the process of conservation and restoration of the material, the documentation and listing, and nevertheless to carry out the process of digitalisation. The costs for the digitalisation processes are covered by the Foundation.
The purpose of the digitalisation process is to facilitate the wider access of the public to the photographic documentation of the most significant photographer from the GDR, who strongly conflicted with the regime. It aims therefore not only to ensure the preservation of such valuable documentation but also to contribute to the political education of youth.
