Anders Petersen: Café Lehmitz

Café Lehmitz, a beer joint at the Reeperbahn, was a meeting point for many who worked in Hamburg's red‑light district: prostitutes, pimps, transvestites, workers, and petty criminals. Anders Petersen was 18 years old when he first visited Hamburg in 1962, chanced upon Café Lehmitz, and established friends that made an impact on his life. In 1968 he returned to Lehmitz, found new regulars, renewed contact and began to take pictures. The other world of Café Lehmitz, which no longer exists in this form, becomes visible as a lively community with its own self‑image and dignity.