Maidan Square, Kiev. January and February 2014.
In total I did four trips to the Maidan Square, it was my first attempt to produce a documentary story, beside shooting as Breaking News. Before the Maidan Square I had never touched a story of such an intensity. As a citizen of Germany, I grew up in a country where you are able to move around freely, nobody asks you to stay or even takes your passport away. As I started to walk into the barricades and chatted to the Euro-Maidan protestors I simply could not understand, what their were dreaming of. To become a part of Europe, move closer, maybe move out of the poverty. I simply couldn´t. Why? I was blinded by the implicitness of being a citizen of the European Union.
Soon things started to get ugly, protesters clashed heavily with police forces. Those Berkut Special Forces used live ammunition, barricades burned, buildings were wrapped in flames, the air was mixed with smoke and teargas.
On Thursday, 20th February 2014 nearly 80 people died within hours, shot by police forces.