Events | Am I a German or a Jewish writer?

Frankfurt am Main | June 12, 2024 | 7:00 PM (GMT+2)

Lion Feuchtwanger in Pacific Palisades. Courtesy of Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, USC (Montage, VATMH)

Panel discussion: Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 7 p.m. (CET)
Venue: Bildungsstätte Anne Frank, Hansaallee 150, 60320 Frankfurt am Main
The conversation will be held in English
More information

With Nele Holdack, Marje Schuetze-Coburn, and Michaela Ullmann (editors of "Lion Feuchtwanger: 'Am I a German or a Jewish Writer?'")

Followed by a panel discussion with the authors Lana Lux & Yevgeniy Breyger.

Moderated by: Shelly Kupferberg

"Am I a German or a Jewish writer?" asked Lion Feuchtwanger in an essay in 1933, during the early phase of his exile and the Nazi dictatorship in Germany. At a time when the Nazis were beginning to consolidate their power and actively implement their anti-Semitic ideology, Feuchtwanger, a prominent writer of the Weimar Republic, became a target. His works were burned, and he was stripped of his house and property. He himself never returned to Germany.

Feuchtwanger's reflection on his identity and affiliation as a German writer of Jewish origin sheds light on the social conditions of the time, under which Jewishness was seen as incompatible with German identity. Despite persecution and exile, he asserted himself as a German cosmopolitan whose heart was Jewish and whose ideas had global resonance.

In a panel discussion with Lana Lux and Yevgeniy Breyger, both of whom deal intensively with topics relating to identity and origin, war and peace, anti-Semitism, and Jewish life in the present, Feuchtwanger's reflections will be examined for their continuing relevance.

The discussion will address deeper questions: How does identity influence creative work and to what extent do social crises—specifically manifest anti-Semitism—shape individual and collective self-understanding? By exploring the intersections between Jewish and German identity, the discussion opens up space to reimagine the dynamic relationship between identity, belonging, and creative expression.

With ...

Yevgeniy Breyger

© Gabriela Cuzepan

Yevgeniy Breyger was born in 1989 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and moved to Germany with his family in 1999. He completed studies in Creative Writing and Cultural Journalism in Hildesheim, Literary Writing at the German Literature Institute Leipzig, and Curatorial Studies at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. In 2016, he published his debut collection "flüchtige monde" with kookbooks. Breyger received the Leonce and Lena Prize in 2019 from the city of Darmstadt and the Munich Poetry Prize in 2021. His second poetry collection "Gestohlene Luft" was published in 2020, followed by "Frieden ohne Krieg" in 2023, both with kookbooks. Yevgeniy Breyger lives and works in Vienna.

Lana Lux

© Paula Winkler

Lana Lux, born in 1986 in Dnipro, is a German-speaking writer, illustrator, and presenter of Ukrainian-Jewish descent. At the age of ten, she emigrated with her parents as a quota refugee to the Ruhr area. She completed her Abitur in 2007 and initially studied Oecotrophology in Mönchengladbach. Later, she trained as an actress at the Michael Chekhov Studio in Berlin. Following her much-acclaimed debut novel "Kukolka" (2017) and "Jägerin und Sammlerin" (2020), both published by Aufbau Verlag, her latest novel "Geordnete Verhältnisse" was released in the spring by Hanser Berlin. Lana Lux lives and works in Berlin.

Nele Holdack

© Urban Zintel Fotografie

Nele Holdack has been the co-editor of the "Andere Bibliothek" at Aufbau Verlag since 2024. As the lead editor for modern classics and classics, she was responsible for publishing works by authors such as Brigitte Reimann, Tillie Olsen, Hans Fallada, Victor Klemperer, and Mark Twain.

Shelly Kupferberg

© David Frank

Shelly Kupferberg was born in 1974 in Tel Aviv and grew up in West Berlin. She studied journalism, theater, and musicology in Berlin. In addition to numerous contributions for ARD, she has been hosting cultural, literary, and social magazines (DLF Kultur and rbbKultur) for almost 30 years. Besides her regular live radio shows, she moderates concerts, readings, and conferences, as well as events for cultural institutions and festivals. Her literary debut "Isidor" was published by Diogenes in the fall of 2022 and appeared on the SPIEGEL bestseller list. Shelly Kupferberg lives in Berlin.

Marje Schuetze-Coburn

Marje Schuetze-Coburn is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and the Feuchtwanger Librarian at the USC Libraries. During her time at USC, Schuetze-Coburn has worked in various positions, including Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Dean of Research, Director of Special Collections & Archives, and Senior Associate Dean.

Michaela Ullmann

Michaela Ullmann has been the Head of the Instruction and Assessment Division and leads the Teaching & Learning Department of the USC Libraries since February 2023. From 2006 to 2023, Michaela managed the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at the USC Libraries.

An event collaboration by Anne Frank Educational Center and Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House in the context of Anne Frank Day in the city of Frankfurt am Main (June 10 to 16, 2024); "Why can't people live together peacefully?"

More information: Bildungsstätte Anne Frank: Anne Frank Tag in Frankfurt am Main (bs-anne-frank.de)

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