KULTUR GEGEN DAS VERGESSEN

The International Day of Remembrance (International Holocaust Remembrance Day) was established by the United Nations in 2005 and commemorates the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on 27 January each year. On this day, the millions of people who fell victim to the Holocaust are commemorated worldwide.

Andreas Lechner, initiator and artistic coordinator, supported by Cynthia Buchheim (cynerauch-films), was able to win the following artists, among others, for the project:

Hermann Beil (dramaturg), Joseph Bierbichler (author and actor), Samuel Finzi (actor), Florian Karlheim (actor), Susanna Kraus (photographer and actress), Nina Kunzendorf (actress), Anna Mesniankina (painter), Anne Ratte-Polle (actress), Nils Bruno Schmidt (actor), Susanna Kraus (photographer, actress), Bernhard Schütz (actor ), Mark Waschke (actor), Marko Mentrup (actor), Gerry Jochum (author).

Tor218Artlab Bar & Galerie, Torstraße 218, 10115 Berlin

Author, director and actor Josef Bierbichler will open CULTURE AGAINST FORGETTING on the occasion of the exhibition opening of MESNIANKINA PAINTINGS.

He will read excerpts from his novel Mittelreich before presenting the film ZWEI HERREN IM ANZUG, which is based on the novel, at the cinema in the Kulturbrauerei on 26 January.

The gallery will be showing paintings by Anna Mesniankina, which will be on display until the end of March 2025. The paintings show elements from nature to abstract compositions. Her pictures are a complex inner reflection on current events.

Andreas Lechner, Richard Arame and Jens Schmidl will provide musical accompaniment for the evening.

Kino in der KulturBrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin

THE INVESTIGATION is a 240-minute cinematic film by director RP Kahl. It is a hybrid project consisting of film, theatre and broadcast elements. The film uses the theatre play ‘The Investigation’ by Peter Weiss as a script.

The oratorio is based on protocols, newspaper publications and personal notes by Peter Weiss of the Auschwitz trials that took place in Frankfurt am Main between 1963 and 1965.

In the film, 28 witnesses talk about their terrible experiences and observations in the camp.

The 4-hour version with a break will be shown.

Kino in der KulturBrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin

The feature film ZWEI HERREN IM ANZUG (Two Men in Suits) by Josef Bierbichler will be shown. With Bavarian force and at the same time poetically, the author, director and actor - based on motifs from his successful novel ‘Mittelreich’ - presents a family epic that simultaneously tells the story of German history from 1914 to the present day and a great piece of homeland.

Followed by a discussion with director and actor Josef Bierbichler (moderated by Andreas Lechner).

Sophienkirche, Große Hamburger Str. 29-30, 10115 Berlin

READING from PETER WEISS, THE AESTHETICS OF RESISTANCE. Actors perform an interpretation of the texts by Peter Weiss (Copyright: Suhrkamp).

The following actors read: Bernhard Schütz, Samuel Finzi, Nina Kunzendorf, Mark Waschke, Hermann Beil, Florian Karlheim, Niels Bruno Schmidt, Susanna Kraus, Cynthia Buchheim, Andreas Pietschmann. Thanks to: Arved Schultze (freelance dramaturg) and the HAU theatre (Hebbel am Ufer).

A sound collage with music by Holocaust survivor Bob Rutman will be heard during the reading.

Peter Weiss (1916-1982) was a German-Swedish writer, painter and filmmaker, known for his politically committed works. Born in Germany, he emigrated to Sweden in 1939, where he spent most of his life. His well-known drama The Investigation is based on the testimonies and records of the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials and sheds light on the atrocities of the Holocaust. In his works, Weiss critically examined topics such as power, justice, and human suffering.

The German-American artist, musician, and composer Bob Rutman was born in Berlin in 1931 and emigrated with his family from Nazi Germany to the United States in 1938. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rutman returned permanently to his native city in 1990 and became an integral part of the Berlin art scene. He died in Berlin in 2021.

Admission: €25 / reduced: €6

Tickets: Eventbrite (online) + Galerie & Bar Tor218Artlab(Klub), Torstraße 218 (advance sale)

CULTURE AGAINST FORGETTING was created in collaboration with the Förderverein Sophienkirche e.V., Leonine Studios, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Film & Mischwaren, Suhrkamp Verlag, X Verleih AG, Franz Meiller Foundation, Neue Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, Kino in der Kulturbrauerei and many other supporters.