Cultural commemoration: reading against forgetting in the SO36

Cultural commemoration: reading against forgetting in the SO36

In Berlin, an impressive reading took place on May 9, 2025 in the well-known Punk Club So36. This event was organized by the Literaturhaus Berlin, the Thomas-Mann-Haus and Villa Aurora in Los Angeles and devoted itself to the texts of Jewish, Marxist and Pacifist authors, whose works were burned by the National Socialists in 1933. The reading united rapper, including Malonda, Conny, Alice Dee, Amewu, Brkn and Ebow, who brought the important texts closer to those present.

The audience, a colorful mixed audience between the ages of 20 and 60, experienced a reading that started cheerfully despite the dark occasion. The works presented addressed internal and external emigration, loss of identity, war, racism and national awareness. Sizes such as Georg Kreisler, Mascha Kaléko, Hannah Arendt, Nelly Sachs, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Tucholsky were among the authors presented. Example texts such as Kaléko's "Spring about Berlin" and Kreisler’s "The Nation" and "Foreign Policy" provided thoughtful moments.

already established tradition

The reading in the SO36 is not the first of its kind. Five years ago, on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of book burning, a special exhibition on the role of Berlin libraries was developed in the censorship of books. This initiative took place in cooperation with the active museum fascism and resistance in Berlin e.V. and the Central and State Library Berlin. As part of this exhibition, the first “reading of burned books” was carried out, which met with great interest and was institutionally established as a annual series.

In the following years, the format and topics such as the 100th anniversary of women's election law were integrated. Works were read as part of this tradition by various authors such as Gabriele Tergit and Clara Zetkin. As part of Corona pandemic, readings were produced as podcasts, which made access to the content easier. The planning for this year's reading, which deals with the topic of anti -Semitism, has already started under the direction of the library team, since Monika Sommerer leaves the project in spring 2023 and moves to the Jewish Museum.

impressions and outlook

The reading in the SO36 was called a successful experiment. The lectures were different, but most of the poems were less than two minutes long and offered a successful mix of well -known and unknown texts. The lecture by Amewu, which caused goose bumps with Paul Celan's "Death Fugue", was particularly urgent. While some lectures were less convincing, the event was generally evaluated as a reminder work and a sign against forgetting.

The event not only offers a look back at the cultural challenges of the past, but also an outlook on possible sequels. Another readings are planned to sensitize future generations to the dangers of censorship and historical forgetting.