28 November 2024 press release

The German Exile Archive 1933–1945 of the German National Library is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024. These days it is committed more than ever to its educational founding impulse to counteract anti-Semitism, racism, nationalism and baiting, and to promote democratic values.
To mark this anniversary, an official ceremony will take place at 19:00 on 5 December 2024 to open the upgraded permanent exhibition “Exile. Experience and Testimony“ at the Frankfurt site of the library. The writer and psychologist Frido Mann, the historian Helke Rausch, the actor Robert Stadlober and the accordionist Vassily Dück will be among the guests.
Numerous visitors who have seen the exhibition “Exile. Experience and Testimony“ since 2018 were touched by the presented items and stories and were inspired to reflect on them. The “exile experience” offered by the exhibition is now even more accessible and immediate, thanks to new content, new perspectives and new approaches.

New content

The new content that is added to the permanent exhibition includes some touching exhibits from children who had to leave their homes and families with a Kindertransport (children’s transport). More space is also given to items that reflect displacement from and returning to Frankfurt am Main. A closer look is also taken at the impact that exiled individuals made in the countries they fled to. In addition to the eight biographies that had already been part of the exhibition in great detail, visitors can now also trace the life story of Kurt S. Maier. A connection is thus formed to the successful temporary exhibition “Just Ask!” and Kurt S. Maier’s digital interactive testimony.

New perspectives

Present-day issues concerning flight and exile are given more room in the upgraded exhibition. People whose family history was shaped by exile receive a voice in large-format videos. Lena Sarah Carlebach, Konstanza, Princess of Löwenstein, Frido Mann and Marion Thimm are sharing their perspectives of the topic. Visitors also learn about the point of view of two people who are currently living in exile in Germany: the writer Volha Hapeyeva from Belarus and the journalist Can Dündar from Turkey. At an interactive station visitors are encouraged to critically reflect on present-day issues and invited to share their own opinions.

New approaches

Two art installations that offer new and emotional ways to approach the issue are also added to the exhibition. The production of “The Passenger” by the theatre collective “Auricle” (London, Berlin) turns Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz’ novel with the same title into an immersive experience. A collage of sound, video and lighting allows the visitors to dive into the story of the Jewish businessman Otto Silbermann who is fleeing from the National Socialists, and to experience what it means to be on the run. The typescript of the novel “The Passenger” was rediscovered a few years ago and has since enjoyed international success. It is part of the Exile Archive’s collection and shown in the upgraded exhibition.

The interactive installation “Was bleibt” (“What remains”) by the German-Israeli artist duo Yael Reuveny and Clemens Walter addresses present-day exile experiences. A composition of images and sounds reflects the memories of people who suffered oppression and persecution in their home countries. The memories shown are those of the writer and linguist Volha Hapeyeva (Belarus), of Zahra Maleki (Afghanistan), of the writer Yirgalem Fisseha Mebrahtu (Eritrea), the actress, author and anti–death penalty activist Shole Pakravan (Iran), the artist and teacher Katja Schraga (Russia), the writer and musician Liao Yiwu (China), and the graphic artist, photographer and LGBQI activist Dasha Zorkina (Russia).

Short films are shown to offer explanations and give an insight into the important cooperation between the Exile Archive and eyewitnesses and those bestowing estates to the Exile Archive.

The upgraded permanent exhibition was designed by the German Exile Archive and Framegrabber Medien GmbH from Hamburg under the curatorial direction of Dr. Sylvia Asmus, the Director of the German Exile Archive, Dr. Jesko Bender, Theresia Biehl and Dr. Marc Wurich are among the members of the exhibition team. The project is receiving funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Anniversary celebration and opening of the exhibition on 5 December 2024 at 19:00:

Welcome and review of 75 years of the Exile Archive:
Frank Scholze, Director General of the German National Library

Greetings:
Dr. Rachel Heuberger, Board of the Jewish Community Frankfurt
Dr. Kai-Michael Sprenger, Director of the "Stiftung Orte der Deutschen Demokratiegeschichte" (Foundation for Sites of German Democratic History)
Prof. Dr. Frido Mann, writer and psychologist

Introduction to the upgraded permanent exhibition:
Dr. Sylvia Asmus, Director of the German Exile Archiv 1933-1945, with Dr. Jesko Bender, Theresia Biehl and Dr. Marc Wurich

Conversation “Memories for the future. 75 years of Exile Archive“:
Dr. Sylvia Asmus, Dr. Helke Rausch and Frank Scholze

Artistic accompaniment during the event:
Robert Stadlober, actor and musician (reading)
Vassily Dück, accordion (music)

Moderation:
Aisha Camara

With video messages from:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Michel Friedman (lawyer, publisher, philosopher), Ralf Hofmann (President of the B’nai B’rith Frankfurt Schönstädt Loge e.V.), Mike Josef (Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main, requested), Dr. Kurt S. Maier (librarian and eyewitness), Claudia Roth (Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media), Dr. Uwe Wittstock (writer and journalist) and others.

Press tour

Press tours can be arranged individually.
Please register at +49 69 1525-1987

“Exile. Experience and Testimony“
Upgraded permanent exhibition of the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 at the German National Library
From 6 December 2024
Monday to Friday 9:00–21:30 Uhr / Saturday 10:00 – 17:30
Closed on Sundays and public holidays, also in the period from 24.12.2024 to 1.1.2025
Admission to the exhibition is free.

Background

Permanent exhibition “Exile. Experience and Testimony“

The permanent exhibition opened on 8 March 2018. It is dedicated to the full spectrum of the exile phenomenon between 1933 and 1945: What does it mean to have to go into exile? What awaits one there? Does exile ever finish? And what remains of exile? Between 1933 and 1945, around 500,000 people were forced to leave the territory controlled by the Nazi dictatorship and go into exile. What they all have in common was the fact that they had been marginalised and persecuted. Yet there were differences in the specific reasons for, and times of their escape – and in their journeys, destinations and experiences in exile. Their experiences are stories of separation and loss, yet also of new beginnings and gains. In this way, the exhibition gives a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of German-language exile between 1933 and 1945, but it should also be understood as a plea for a detailed approach to dealing with history that includes a multitude of perspectives. The exhibits shown in the permanent exhibition are mostly original items from the archive’s collection.

German Exile Archive 1933-1945

The German Exile Archive has devoted itself to the subject of exile for 75 years. It was established in the early years after World War II with involvement of émigrés. The members of the Association for the Protection of German Authors in Switzerland thought of the collection as an instrument for political education, “a weapon against the newly rising tide of Nazism”. The German Exile Archive remains committed to this cause to this day. Its extensive collection, numerous exhibitions and diverse educational programme all focus on exile in the past and present. More information about the Exile Archive: www.dnb.de/EN/exile

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