Erinnerungskultur | Wartist

Opening: Simon Menner – Images from the Secret STASI Archives (Berlin)

From 17 January to 3 March 2011, Simon Menner presents “Images from the Secret STASI Archives”¹ within the framework of “Rendezvous mit Kunst” (meeting with art) at Berlin’s restaurant Diekmann. Also in this country, surveillance by images and video is increasingly becoming ubiquitous. But what does “Big Brother” really see? How banal is the “gaze of evil” of an oppressive regime, and how obvious is its terror?

MfS-HA-VIII-Fo-0525-Bild-0002 Giving Secret Signs

Stasi is the short form of “(Ministerium für) Staatssicherheit” ((Ministry for) State Security), the East-German state security service. ↩

Documentary “Remembering the Children” (Berlin)

On the occasion of the 66th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp on 27. January 2011, Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus e.V., Institut Français Berlin and Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie e.V. present the documentary “Remembering the Children” (La Mémoire des Enfants) by Hannes Gellner and Thomas Draschan, made in 2007. The film deals with the fate of Jewish children under the Vichy regime. The film attemps to fathom how it was possible (in human, legal, and administrative terms) that between 1942 and 1944 more than 11,400 Jewish children were deported from France to Auschwitz on the initiative of the French authorities.

Filles Reisz, Archives Serge et Beate Klarsfeld

“Historical Picture” at Kunstraum t27 (Berlin)

From 11 December 2010, Berlin-based gallery Kunstraum t27 is presenting the group exhibition “Historienbild” (historical painting) within the six-part exhibition series about the various genres of (not just) painting. “Historienbild” has the subject of dealing with history, and interestingly all the works directly or indirectly address war.

Borrowed Plumes: Demokratie-Spiegel writes about Jürgen Graetz’s “Erinnerungen”

The online magazine “Demokratie-Spiegel” published a short review about the photo exhibition “Jürgen Graetz: Erinnerungen” that is curated by Martin Bayer. They already had been so kind to previously point to the exhibition’s opening on 29 October 2010.

Jürgen Graetz: Erinnerungen (Memories)

As already announced here, on 29 October 2010, the exhibition “Erinnerungen” (memories) with photographs of Jürgen Graetz was successfully opened in the premises of the Berlin-based political consultancy republik movida GmbH. The welcome address was given by Lars Lindemann MdB (FDP) in the presence of the artist.

Lars Lindemann MdB, curator Martin Bayer, photographer Jürgen Graetz

Wartist presents: “Memories” by Jürgen Graetz

Berlin, Treptow, Soviet War Memorial, February 1993 (© Jürgen Graetz)

From 29 October 2010, Jürgen Graetz – who grew up in East Germany – will show a selection of his photos in the premises of the Berlin-based political consultancy republik movida GmbH. The exhibition “Erinnerungen” (Memories) is curated by Martin Bayer (Wartist.org), with a welcome address by Lars Lindemann MdB (FDP).

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Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo without Japanese Government Members

Since the end of the Second World War, every year on 15 August (the day of Japanese surrender) Japanese members of government visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. But Prime Minister Naoto Kan, elected on 4 June 2010, who some days ago already apologised for the colonial rule 1910-1945 to South Korea, continues his reconciliatory approach: for the first time since 25 years, no member of the government attended the anniversary’s ceremonies.

Radio Talk: The Bundeswehr’s Culture of Remembrance

On 13 August 2010 at 1915h, German radio station Deutschlandradio broadcasted a 45 minutes discussion of its programme Kulturgespräch called “Freundliches Desinteresse” (amiable lack of interest, a quote by former Federal President Horst Köhler on the German people’s attitude towards the Bundeswehr) about “The Bundeswehr’s Culture of Remembrance”.

Elly Beinhorn’s Record Flight on a Commemorative Stamp

On 13 August 1935 at around 0330h, the already well-known aviator Elly Beinhorn started in today’s Polish Gliwice (Gleiwitz) for another record flight: within one day, she wanted to fly from Germany to Asia and return; at the end, her famous flight resulted in 3,470 km within nearly 13.5 hours. This record flight, the pilot and her plane – a Bf-108 “Taifun” (Typhoon) – are being honoured by a commemorative stamp, issued on 12 August 2010 by the German postal service Deutschen Post AG.

Elly Beinhorn's record flight, German commemorative stamp

Design by Klein & Neumann, Iserlohn

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The “Kursk” Disaster: 10 Years After

Ten years ago, the Russian submarine K-141 Kursk sunk; 118 submariners lost their lives. The “Kursk” disaster was – besides the accident as such – a multifold debacle: Russia was not able to save its submariners; the relief operation was – to put it mildly- very chaotic; and even raising the hull had to be done by the Dutch companies Mammoet and Smit Internationale. About one year ago, at least the long-planned and eagerly awaited memorial was unveiled in Murmansk: central element of the monument is the sail (command tower) of the submarine that was raised in 2001.