Some objects tell stories and carry memories – this book began with a kitchen towel.

For over 12 years, Braunschweig-based photographer and artist Klaus G. Kohn has portrayed people in the "autumn of their lives" on a snow-covered field. Simple props enable the viewer to delve into the protagonists' life stories without the need for words.

The inspiration for Kohn's work came from a pivotal conversation with his father, who found himself stranded in a farming village in Lower Saxony after the war. With no family and no material security, his father's last possession was a kitchen towel. This towel became a symbol of his new beginning and his lifelong struggle for security and recognition. The portrait of his father – holding the kitchen towel in a field – became the leitmotif of Kohn's series.

In 'Passage: Die Dinge, das Leben', Kohn conducted personal interviews with nearly 50 different individuals. His sensitive portraits reflect formative experiences, ranging from the loss of security, home, and family, to the creation of new structures. They tell personal stories and stand as testaments to strength and resilience, often shaped by traumatic experiences. Beyond the individual narratives, they embody the experiences and creative will of an entire generation.

Each story is brought to life by a symbolic prop: the feather bed for the little girl enduring the icy winter of war, the bread for the hungry teenager in the fortress of Wroclaw, or the bow tie as a symbol of a young man's extravagance.