Conference: Finding a Language. Antisemitism in Literary Exhibitions

Finding a Lanugage: Antisemitism in Literary Exhibitions

On 20 and 21 June, Schloss Wiepersdorf hosted the conference "Zur Sprache bringen: Anti-Semitism in Literary Exhibitions. Institutions, History, Practices" took place at Schloss Wiepersdorf. It was organised by Prof. Dr Marcel Lepper, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kulturstiftung Schloss Wiepersdorf, and Dr. Nike Thurn from the German Historical Museum in Berlin. The first step was to explore how anti-Semitism is generally addressed in museums and exhibitions, so the discussions could build on existing experiences. Subsequently, specific examples of literature exhibitions and literature museums were used to discuss the ways in which anti-Semitism in the history of German-language literature can be addressed within these institutions and what the pitfalls and opportunities are.

The opening lecture was given by Prof. Dr. Liliane Weissberg, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences and Professor of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2013, she was the curator of the exhibition "Jews. Money. A Performance" at the Jewish Museum Frankfurt am Main. Furthermore, the following participants contributed to the discussion at the conference: Dr. Theresa Eisele, university assistant at the institute for Theatre, Film and Media Studies, University of Vienna, and former fellow at Schloss Wiepersdorf, Dr. Barbara Eschenburg, research associate at the Buddenbrookhaus Lübeck, Dr. Barbara Gribnitz, research associate at the Kleist Museum Frankfurt an der Oder, Dr. Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, 1993-2011 chief curator of the Jewish Museum Vienna, Stella Leder, co-founder of the Institute for New Social Sculpture (Institut für Neue Soziale Plastik), Petra Lutz, project manager of the new concept for the Goethe National Museum and head of the Goethe National Museum and Poets' Houses department at the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, PD Dr. Andree Michaelis-König, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Cultural Studies at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt an der Oder, Ute Lilly Mohnberg, Research Associate Exhibitions at GRIMMWELT Kassel, Annette Rupp, Director of the Kulturstiftung Schloss Wiepersdorf, Jan Sauerwald, Managing Director and Program Director of GRIMMWELT Kassel, and Prof. Dr Jens-Christian Wagner, Director of the Foundation Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora and Professor for History in Media and the Public Sphere at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.