Press release: 11.3.2016

Events and exhibitions in the German National Library in Leipzig during the Leipzig Book Fair

The German National Library shall once again have its own stand in hall 5 (H 516) at the Leipzig book fair this year. As part of “Leipzig liest” a number of readings and special guided tours shall be taking place in the German National Library on Deutscher Platz. “Bahnriss?! Papier | Kultur” is a new exhibition in the German Museum of Books and Writing. Further information (available only in German) www.dnb.de/buchmesse.

“Verlage im 'Dritten Reich” // Lecture byn Klaus G. Saur // German National Library in Leipzig // Tuesday, 15. March 2016, 19:30

In 1932 more than 33,000 new publications were released in Germany – more publications than ever before. The three publishing houses Edition Peters, Breitkopf & Härtel and Schott in Mainz controlled 60 percent of the global music market. The Conformity Laws introduced by the National Socialists in 1933 brought this heyday to an abrupt end. When the War broke out, there were just ten publishing houses that hadn't published any kind of National Socialist literature. Klaus G. Saur, publisher of the anthology “Verlage im 'Dritten Reich'” (Publishing Houses during the 'Third Reich') (Klostermann Verlag), gives a vivid and well-documented description of the death of publishing houses. The German Museum of Books and Writing at the German National Library shall accompany this lecture with an exhibition of selected publications from that era.

Free admission. Museum reading room, doors open 19:00

Elisabeth Raabe // “Eine Arche ist eine Arche ist eine Arche. Verlegerinnenleben” // Book Launch // Hosted by: Hermann Vinke // German National Library in Leipzig // Thursday, 17. Marchz 2016, 19:00

“Verlegerinnenleben” (The life of female publishers) tells the story of Elisabeth Raabe and Regina Vitali, who, with a great passion for literature and book-making, revived the Zürcher Arche Verlag – the publishing house of Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, the dadaists and expressionists – and turned it into one of the fine literary addresses in the German-speaking world in the quarter century since the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, In cooperation with edition momente, as part of “Leipzig liest”

Free admission. Sitzungszimmer, doors open 18:30

Reinhard Jirgl // “Oben das Feuer, unten der Berg” // Reading and interview // Hosted by: Cornelia Zetzsche (Bayerischer Rundfunk) // German National Library in Leipzig // Thursday, 17 March 2016, 20:00

In his novel Reinhard Jirgl tells of the major bureaucratic reorganization, which was referred to in politics as the “Wende” and left former beliefs intact: cronyism, organizations, enmities.
Theresa, born in East Germany, grew up with foster parents, because her own parents were imprisoned as oppositionists. During the 1970s, working as a historian, she is given access to the secret archives of the DDR – and is presented with shocking, unbelievable documents. She is ostracized and it stays that way, because her knowledge is extremely dangerous after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Reinhard Jirgl was born in 1953 in Berlin. He has received many awards for his work, including the Alfred Döblin Prize, the Joseph Breitbach Prize and the Georg Büchner Prize in 2010. In cooperation with Carl Hanser Verlag as part of “Leipzig liest”

Free admission. Vortragsraum, doors open 19:30

Erwin Berner // “Erinnerungen an Schulzenhof” // Reading and interview. Hosted by: Angela Drescher // German National Library in Leipzig // Friday 18 March 2016, 18:00

Erwin Berner has long since stopped using the surname Strittmatter. In letters to a friend, he tells of his torn childhood. He needed this memory to see his parents in a different light. On the outside, the life of the writer couple Eva and Erwin Strittmatter in Schulzenhof seemed idyllic. For their oldest common son, Erwin Berner, it was in some ways a “nightmare in a beautiful landscape”.
Erwin Berner was born in 1953. He lives in Berlin, was an actor for many years, and writes plays, poems, song lyrics, and prose. In cooperation with Aufbau Verlag, as part of “Leipzig liest”

Free admission. Vortragsraum, doors open 17:30.

Anna Katharina Hahn // "Das Kleid meiner Mutter" // Reading and interview. Hosted by: Dr. Hubert Winkels (Deutschlandfunk) // German National Library in Leipzig // Friday 18 March 2016, 19:00

Anita is part of Spain’s “lost generation”. Out of necessity, she had to move back into her old childhood bedroom. She shares the fate of long-term unemployment with her friends. After the death of her parents, she slips into the life of her mother, all she has to do is to put on one of her dresses... Anna Katharina Hahn was born in 1970 and lives in Stuttgart. Her novel “Am Schwarzen Berg”, which was nominated for the Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse in 2012, was published recently. In cooperation with Suhrkamp Verlag, as part of “Leipzig liest”

Admission: EUR 4.00 / EUR 3.00 (reduced). Großer Lesesaal, Doors open 18:30 / Contact veranstaltungen@dnb.de to make a reservation, call 0341-2271-331 or purchase a ticket on the door

Siegfried Lenz // “Der Überläufer” // Read by Burghart Klaußner // German National Library in Leipzig // Saturday, 19 March 2016, 19:00

Written in 1951, Siegfried Lenz’ second novel was never released until now. It is a book about the horrors of war, about the conflict between duty and conscience – but it is also a love story and a tribute to his Masurian homeland.

Siegfried Lenz (1926‒2014) received many awards for his work, including the Goethe Prize of the city of Frankfurt am Main and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
In cooperation with HOFFMANN UND CAMPE VERLAG and the Siegfried Lenz Stiftung as part of “Leipzig liest”

Admission: EUR 4.00 / EUR 3.00 (reduced). Großer Lesesaal, Doors open 18:30 / Contact veranstaltungen@dnb.de to make a reservation, call 0341-2271-331 or purchase a ticket on the door

Contact person

a.koschnick@dnb.de