Südwall

Margret Hoppe’s Südwall (Southern Wall) is a photographic exploration—a search for traces—along the Mediterranean coast, focusing on the period of exile and the German occupation during the Second World War. Unlike the bunker complexes in Brittany and Normandy, which were documented by Paul Virilio, the history of the Südwall is far less well known. Constructed by the Wehrmacht along the coastline—stretching from the Spanish border to the Italian border—these fortifications served the German occupiers as defensive positions against the Allies until 1943. To this day, remnants of bunkers, fortresses, and gun emplacements can still be found in the vicinity of Marseille, some of the ruins now overgrown with Mediterranean vegetation. Margret Hoppe’s landscape photographs capture these vestiges of the Südwall, alongside images of various houses and locations. The publication also serves as an investigation into the history of German intellectuals—such as Lion Feuchtwanger, Bertolt Brecht, and Thomas Mann—who lived in exile in Sanary-sur-Mer, near Marseille.