Community-Based Photographic Archives and “Potential” Histories of the Cold War in Eastern Europe

Abstract

The article proposes to look at the recently emerged online photographic archives in Eastern Europe as a form of digital commons. The bulk of the collected photographs in these archives are vernacular, family or amateur photographs, the sort which obstinately resists being included in the histories of photography. The online archives under scrutiny here, Fortepan in Hungary and Karta/CAS in Poland, disregard the established divisions between the photographic genres, allowing the reconfiguring of the hierarchies and values perpetuated by other archives and museum collections. Most significantly, by being accessible and relying on the contributions of its users, the online archives also forge a new public. The aim of this article is to investigate the affordances of these archives in constructing new photographic histories of the Cold War. Looking at selected photographs showing collective manifestations and street protests, the article will demonstrate the realignment of the private and the public in these archives.