"Frag nach, Just ask!" Digital interactive interviews with Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier
Exhibition opening
Graphic: Framegrabber Medien GmbH
begin 07.09.2023, 19:00
end 07.09.2023, 21:00
location Frankfurt am Main
An exhibition of the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 at the German National Library, from 8 September 2023
The German Exile Archive 1933–1945 has been cooperating closely with eyewitnesses Kurt S. Maier and Inge Auerbacher to create digital interactive interviews that explore their experiences of anti-Semitic persecution and exile after 1933.
Together with the two eyewitnesses as well as the actress Iris Berben (reading) and the pianist Omer Klein (music), this special presentation will be formally opened on 7 September 2023.
Along with the life-size interactive interviews projected into the room, the event will also include the launch of an accompanying exhibition that focuses on the biographies of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier. The exhibition invites visitors to engage with the life stories of the two eyewitnesses and draw parallels with the reality of our lives today. It promotes dialogue with the digital interactive interviews and encourages interaction with this new kind of remembrance.
The digital interactive interviews were created in collaboration with the USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education and are part of the project "Learning from the Past for the Present - Interactive Interviews with Witnesses of Historical Exile". The interviews are among the first of their kind to be produced in German.
Programme
Welcome speech: Frank Scholze, Director General of the German National Library
Greetings: Dr. Ina Hartwig, Head of the Department of Culture and Science of the City of Frankfurt am Main
Greetings: Dr. Robert Williams, Finci-Viterbi Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation
Introduction to the exhibition: Dr. Sylvia Asmus, Head of the German Exile Archive 1933–1945
Conversation with Dr. Sylvia Asmus, Dr. h.c. Inge Auerbacher, Dr. Kurt S. Maier and Karen Jungblut (USC Shoah Foundation)
Reading: Iris Berben, Actress
Music: Omer Klein, Pianist
Moderated by Doris Renck
The event will be held in German.
Kurt S. Maier was born in 1930 in Kippenheim. When he was 11, the family Maier was able to flee to the USA. Part of his life story is not only the experience of exile but also the forced deportation of the jewish community of Baden to the French camp Gurs in the Autumn of 1940.
Kurt S. Maier was interviewed in July 2021 at his residence in Washington, D.C., by Sylvia Asmus.
Inge Auerbacher was born in December 1934 in Kippenheim. In August 1942, Inge and her parents were deported to Theresienstadt. The family remained imprisoned there until liberation on 8 May 1945. The family emigrated to the USA in May 1946.
Inge Auerbacher was interviewed by Sylvia Asmus at her residence in New York in October 2022.
An exhibition of the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 at the German National Library, from 8 September 2023
For more information on the interactive interviews with eyewitnesses, please visit: https://www.dnb.de/zeitzeugnisinteraktiv
Information and Contact
The event will be held in German.
Venue: Lecture hall, German National Library in Frankfurt am Main
Costs: Free admission
Booking: Online via the button above. The number of participants is limited.
Cloakroom info: Please leave your coats, jackets and umbrellas in the cloakroom. You will need two two-Euro coins to store your bags and jackets in the lockers.
Accessibility: The area in which the event will be taking place is barrier-free accessible.
Contact: exilarchiv-veranstaltungen@dnb.de or Tel. +49 69 1525-1987
Address and getting here
German National Library
Adickesallee 1
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Getting here
We advise you to use public transport.
1 / By public transport
By rail
From the main railway station (underground level), take the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 10 minutes.
By plane
From the airport (regional station), take S-Bahn S8 in the direction of Hanau or the S9 in the direction of Offenbach and get off at “Konstablerwache”. Change to the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 30 minutes.
By bus
The “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek” bus stop is served by the number M32 bus.
2 / By bike
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main can easily be reached by bike. You can get to the DNB by taking the cycle paths on Adickesallee, Nibelungenallee, and Eckenheimer Landtraße.
Covered bicycle racks are located right at the main entrance.
3 / By car
The address for navigation devices is Eckenheimer Landstraße 165. The building is accessed from the underground car park. The maximum entrance height is 2.0 m.
Approaching from the west
Take the A66 to the end of the autobahn in Miquelallee and follow the signs for Fulda/Hanau; at the third intersection, turn right into Eckenheimer Landstraße in the direction of the city centre; follow the signs and turn right into the underground car park.
Approaching from the north
Take the A661 to the Eckenheim exit, get into the lane for the city centre/Eckenheim, continue straight on to the third major set of traffic lights and cross these. The entrance to the underground car park is located at the German National Library building around 100 metres further on the right.
Parking
Our car park has 100 parking spaces for visitors on the first basement floor.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 6:00 to 22:00, Saturday 8:00 to 18:00.
Fees: 2.00 Euro/hour, cash or card payment.
The permanent rental of parking spaces is not possible.
For on-street parking spaces in the Holzhausenviertel district, the City of Frankfurt of Main charges 50 cents per quarter hour or part thereof from Monday to Friday between 7:00 and 19:00.
4 / Accessibility
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main has designated disabled parking spaces in its car park and next to the building in Schlosserstraße. The Library's public rooms can be accessed by lift from the underground car park. Barrier-free access to the main entrance is also available from Schlosserstraße.
Last changes:
15.08.2023
