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Dresden Photographers Mark WW2 Anniversaries in Coventry

08 December 2025

Veterans of Coventry’s motor industry and some current employees have been put in the frame by a pair of renowned German photographers to mark the anniversaries of two significant Second World War bombings.

Acclaimed Dresden-based photographers Günter and Christine Starke have captured dozens of post-war motor industry workers with iconic vehicles at Coventry Transport Museum – 85 years on from the Coventry Blitz and 80 years since the destruction of Dresden in 1945.

Museum volunteers, from left: Jeff, Harry, Brian, Pete and Alan. Photography © Guenter & Christine Starke

The Humber Super Snipe open-top staff car used by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, often known as Monty, throughout the D-Day landings and until the end of the war was built in Coventry and is displayed at Coventry Transport Museum.

Günter made his name as a documentary photographer in the East German city during the difficult years of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), while Christine is known for her portraits and photography after German re-unification.

The capital of the German state of Saxony was dubbed “Florence on the Elbe” prior to its devastation and was twinned with Coventry in 1959.

A selection of their photographs, which reflect their documentary output in Dresden during the past 40 years, recently went on display in the Priory Visitor’s Centre. The exhibition complements their visit to the city to carry out a new project which will reflect on Coventry’s role as a centre of motor production during the war – and the demise of the industry since the 1980s.

Dozens of the city’s former car industry workforce, including Cllr Jim O’Boyle, who worked as a shop steward at Peugeot’s Ryton plant before it closed in 2007, members of the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash as well as the Coventry Freemen’s Guild, posed for photos in front of the cars associated with their often decades-long careers. They also reflected on their time in the industry and shared feelings about the city’s close connection to Germany.

The new project also features current workers in what continues to be an important part of Coventry’s industrial base as well as a number of current Museum volunteers who help to maintain this important part of Coventry’s industrial heritage.

The exchange has been facilitated by the Coventry Association for International Friendship (CAIF), which promotes peace, friendship and understanding and has supported the city’s twinning with others across the globe for more than 60 years.

The group has helped organise arts exchanges with Dresden for more than 10 years, with numerous painters and sculptors,theatre groups, poets and bands visiting the city in Saxony and vice versa.

Dave Hirons, Assistant Secretary at CAIF, said the hope is for the photos to be exhibited in Coventry and Dresden, which is home to its own transport museum – the Verkehrsmuseum Dresden.

Dave said: “It’s been a privilege to welcome Günther and Christine to Coventry – and to help share some of the tales from people from the city’s motor industry as part of this project in collaboration with the Transport Museum.

“We’re excited to see the results and hope they can go on display in Dresden or Coventry – or even better, both.

“Younger generations have so many ways to connect, which is fantastic, but it also makes visits like these all the more important to ensure these bonds established over the decades continue to be as strong as possible.

“What’s preserved at Coventry Transport Museum and its collections is vital to the history of the city, and all the volunteers who help to bring it to life and maintain much of what we don’t see are incredibly important.”

Matthew Mullen, Venue Manager at Coventry Transport Museum, said: “I’d like to thank Günther and Christine for helping to share some of the personal stories from Coventry’s renowned car industry and its long history.

“Coventry’s post-war story is inextricably linked with Dresden so to have the opportunity to host this visit on the occasion of a major anniversary of the November 1940 Blitz has been fantastic.”

JLR employee Constanze, originally from Saxony, next to an electric I-Pace Jaguar. Photography © Guenter & Christine Starke

Retired motor industry worker Brian poses with iconic vehicles at Coventry Transport Museum. Photography © Guenter & Christine Starke

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