Former neo-Nazis are portrayed in the process of departing from their previous identities as right-wing extremists. The photographs show tattoo removals or cover-ups, as symbols that for years expressed an identity and a political worldview disappear slowly. The erasure of signs inscribed into the skin is a very deliberate step for those leaving; it is costly, lengthy and painful.
Meanwhile, monochrome photographs depict historical NS symbols which remain visible at numerous outdoor locations. Despite the process of denazification and attempts at removal, these signs or their traces remain visible in a range of locations; on houses, in decorative bands and in facades. Ganslmeier's images reveal those fragments as well as examine their wider spatial context in villages, streets and settlements.
By situating these individual stories into a socio-political context, this work poses the question: to what extent is the German past really past?