In 1998 a family of 45 people moved from Kazakhstan to Berlin. Long before this migration out of Kazakhstan to Berlin, at the beginning of the 19th century, their ancestors had moved in the opposite direction. Life conditions in Germany in those days were very poor, but in underpopulated Russia, where there was plenty of space, they were welcome. Here the immigrated Germans settled for a new life and formed their own, often closed and tight communities.

After Perestroika the descendants of these German immigrants got the opportunity to return to the motherland of their ancestors.

Now they all live closely together in the former eastern part of Berlin, where the architecture of post-war communism reminds them of home.

It was autumn when I visited the Brittner family to make this series. The air was full of nostalgia, which, together with the familiar architecture and atmosphere of times long past, made me feel melancholic