In this post, I share the story behind the stunning “Path of No Return“ by Patrick Jacquet, a very talented professional photographer. Patrick Jacquet comes from the ‘Pays de Gex’ French area, on the Swiss border close to Geneva. He is also the president of the French photographic association ‘Mise Au Point’. ‘Mise Au Point’ covers local events and provides photo coaching. Patrick specializes in panoramic views combining both photo stitching and HDR (High Dynamic Range) techniques. In his stunning portfolio, one can find beautiful and excellent captures with high resolution and quality that allow very large prints.
“Visiting a concentration camp is something I wanted to do for a long time,” Patrick tells us as he is talking about his work. “Firstly, because we all have a duty of Memory. Secondly, it’s more personal; something in my head saying: “You need to go there, you have something to do there”. Now I think I have the answer. Photography is about capturing a moment, revealing an atmosphere, and magnifying a landscape. It is also about telling a story.
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains. It was close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller (German Natzweiler) in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km southwest of the city of Strasbourg. This was the only concentration camp on present-day French territory. Yet, there were French-run temporary camps such as the one at Drancy. At the time, the Alsace-Lorraine area in which it was established was administered by Germany as an integral part of the German Reich.
This picture by itself speaks about 52000 prisoners over three years (1941-1944), prisoners called Nacht und Nebel (Night and Fog). The camp held a crematorium and a Gerry-rigged gas chamber outside the main camp. Even if it was not used for mass extermination, 22000 people died there. Strenuous work, medical experiments, poor nutrition, and mistreatment by the SS guards were causes of these massive deaths”.
Hard times were and hard times maybe, despite our hopes; and, photography has this mission among the others; to become the evidence and the messenger; to explore places and stories through images, memories, symbols, and emotions. This is a difficult task, but essential; a big effort not to walk again on paths of no return like these. And, thank you so much Patrick for sharing this great work and thought-provoking story. You can follow Patrick Jacquet and additional pictures to this story on his site www.panos-gessiens.net to the photo album called “Duty of memory“.
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