How to survive the Apocalypse – an impractical beginner's guide

What will actually happen if the power goes out or the water stops coming out of the mains? The gas stations close. The supermarket shelves are suddenly empty. We are more dependent on the global economy, agriculture and industry than ever before. Expertise that was vital for survival not so long ago is now largely forgotten. Or have you ever hunted an animal yourself, shot it, gutted it, skinned it and processed the meat?

The pandemic has only recently given us a taste of how quickly the tide can turn. In addition, there are more signs than there have been for a long time that the times of the affluent society in the so-called Western world could soon be over. International crises, a global shift to the right, climate change, the ever-increasing imbalance between rich and poor.

A growing group in Germany is convinced that the collapse of our current affluent society is imminent. And they are prepared. The so-called ‘preppers’ are hoarding supplies, building bunkers, stocking up on specialised technology and practising a self-sufficient lifestyle. Previously dismissed as ‘fear-obsessed fanatics’ and ‘weirdos’, they now come from all social classes. On the website of the ‘Prepper Community Germany’, for example, sewing courses, navigation and amateur radio licences are recommended alongside hunting licences, survival training and botany. The YouTube format ‘7 vs Wild’ is so successful that it has made the leap from the web to classic television. Topics such as crisis and survival training have returned to the centre of society.

My photo series ‘How to survive the Apocalypse’ offers an insight into the world of preppers and survivalists and summarises them in a not entirely serious handbook for surviving the end of the world. As part of 48 Stunden Neukölln, I will be showing selected photographs for the first time and presenting the book.