Giesshaus (University of Kassel)

The Giesshaus (foundry) was built as part of the Henschelei, a factory established in the nineteenth century by the industrialist family Henschel, which specialized in the construction of locomotives, vehicles, and airplanes. The Henschel factory became one of the main sources of arms production in Nazi Germany during World War II, deploying more than 6,000 forced workers. During documenta 14, the Giesshaus transforms into a screening space for the multichannel video and sound installation Crossings (2017) by Angela Melitopoulos. Shot recently in metallurgy plants in Lavrion and Skouries, Greece, as well as in refugee camps in Lesbos and Piraeus, this documentary work engages the social dimensions and historical continuities of the region’s economic and civil wars.