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Germany was reunified more than 30 years ago, but since the Ukraine War the country has experienced a significant step backwards in its integration. TV presenter Jessy Wellmer, who feels at home in both East and West, traces the deep rift - and sets out to find a way in which German unification could still succeed.


Jessy Wellmer was born in Güstrow in Mecklenburg in 1979. She was nine years old when the Wall came down. Today she is known as the presenter of the “Sportschau” and various political formats on ARD. Since studying in Berlin, she has traveled a lot throughout the country. In the West she is asked what is going on with the Ossis. East Germans want to know from her what makes the West tick. This mediator role is one of her life themes.


Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, she has been concerned that many in the East are becoming radicalized and that there is a growing feeling that they don't have much in common with the West Germans. Conversely, she observes that many West Germans perceive the “Easterners” primarily as a disruptive factor. Why is that? What went wrong? And most importantly: How do we get out of this?


Wellmer doesn't give easy answers. She looks closely and takes the different stories and narratives seriously. For them, the GDR era and the reunification phase are part of Germany's shared history.


Jessy Wellmer, born in 1979, was born in Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. After studying social and business communication at the Berlin University of the Arts, she worked as a freelance reporter for rbb. In 2009 she took over the sports reporting in the “ZDF-Morgenmagazin”. Since 2014 she has moderated the “ARD Sportschau” and the sports political program “Sportschau Thema” as well as major sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the World and European Football Championships. Viewers also know her from political formats such as “ARD Mittagsmagazin” and “ARD Corona Extra from Berlin”. Last year she made the highly regarded ARD report “Putin, Russia and We East Germans” about the view of many East Germans on Russia's war against Ukraine.


An event organized by Literatur LIVE in cooperation with Kiepenheuer & Witsch Verlag and the Thalia bookstore.

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Dates
February 2024
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