A Passport to Art: 40 Years of the German-German Cultural Agreement

For thirteen years, the treaty between the two German states had been put on hold time and again – given the division of Germany, cultural exchange was highly contentious.

The GDR leadership initially refused to recognise art and culture as a link between East and West, but was forced to accept that it could no longer shield its population from Western influence. The Federal Government insisted on the indivisibility of the nation, whilst seeking openness and dialogue. A particular point of contention in the negotiations over the inter-German cultural agreement centred on the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, based in West Berlin: the Federal Government rejected the GDR’s demand for the return of cultural assets that had been relocated to the eastern part of Berlin as a result of the war.

Contemporary witnesses and key figures from that era will discuss these issues at the event organised by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl Foundation: What impact did the agreement have? How did art and audiences, who lived under such different circumstances, interact? The event will also explore the question of what characterised GDR culture, which was partly state-controlled and partly independent and subversive.

How do these distinctive features continue to have an impact today? A key topic of discussion on the panel will be whether, and how, art and culture can bring about social change.

The panellists are Ingeborg Ruthe, art critic for the *Berliner Zeitung*; Petra Winter, director of the Central Archive of the State Museums in Berlin; Thomas Flierl, former employee of the GDR Ministry of Culture and former Berlin Senator for Culture; gallery owner Felix Brusberg; and Ulrich Leidholdt, former GDR radio correspondent for WDR.

Moderator: Christhard Läpple, former editor at ZDF.

• Admission free.
• Please register in advance