velinraconte

In spring 2015, the year a million people sought refuge in Germany after arriving in the EU mainly in Greece, one apartment block in the village of Troeglitz ( 3 hours south of Berlin) was about to receive 40 people, when arsonists set it on fire. As news crews flocked to the small community, this photograph of the roof went around the world, and became a symbol of the violence against asylum seekers that spotted many parts of Germany then. When the media left, Jo-Anne Velin arrived – and stayed. For eleven months between the attack and what would be a historic state election for the hard-right anti-immigrant AfD party, that won in Troeglitz’s own electoral district, and came second in the state election in a multi-party field. She shared daily life, followed football matches and ante-natal swimming classes, joined seniors for coffee in the afternoon and the bakers at work in the middle of the night, accompanied children, explored old and existing industries, hiked through the fields and woods and listened.  

As the AfD picked up real momentum across the country after this one election, that fact has made the The Picture of the Day all the more compelling.