University of Bonn lecture hall
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What it is:
Photo measuring 4.75 x 3.5 inches (including almost an inch of border on the right).
What I know about it:
Photographer is Renate Braun of Bonn, Germany. Printed on Agfa Brovira paper.
Comments:
On the one hand, this is a rather boring image of rather bored-looking people. And yet I can’t stop staring at it, trying to figure out what I’m looking at. Thinking that this looks like a university lecture hall, and assuming that the photographer was working close to home, it was no trouble verifying that this is the University of Bonn, as can be seen in this photo here. But who are these people? And what is the occasion? They don’t look like students attending a lecture, since only a few are taking notes. They are all wearing name tags. There is a variety of ages and ethnicities, and the man down front is wearing something on a chain that looks very formal and official. Any ideas?
Pics of Then 
Something to do with the government, since Bonn used to be the capital of West Germany? I wish I knew what that medal-on-a-chain was; that seems like an obvious clue.
A government or quasi-government function or event crossed my mind, too, for that same reason.