Inheriting East Germany
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| 8 EUR, reduced 4 EUR |
| Please book your ticket in advance online or at the box office at the Foyer. |
| 14 years and older |
| German |
| Ground Floor, Hall 3 |
| Part of: SITE SPECIFICS |
With Annett Gröschner, Sabine Rennefanz, Aron Boks, Gabriela Braden-Becker and Daniela Greinert
Records and pepper shakers from the Palace of the Republic, lamps designed by a grandfather, or a collection of program booklets from long-past concert evenings.
Such items carry experiences and emotions within them. They tell personal and family stories that often go far beyond the private sphere and are part of collective memory.
How do we remember divided Germany – and how do we pass on these memories? How do they shape our lives today and the lives of future generations? At the former site of the Palace of the Republic, the event focuses on the connection between personal objects, memories, and family heritage.
Authors Annett Gröschner (“Schwebende Lasten”), Sabine Rennefanz (“Kosakenberg”), and Aron Boks (“Starkstromzeit. Vom Leben in einem Staat, den es nicht mehr gibt”) will read from their latest works. In these, they explore questions of identity, family, and memory against the backdrop of the GDR past – themes we will then delve into together in conversation.
The second part of the evening is dedicated to memorabilia from the Palace of the Republic:
Gabriela Braden-Becker presents objects from her time as a DJ at the Palace, while Daniela Greinert shares stories about the extensive collection of inherited program booklets. These personal testimonies serve as a starting point for the question of what remains of the past – and how we deal with this legacy today.
The evening will be hosted by Susanne Müller-Wolff, Stiftung Humboldt Forum.
Participants
Annett Gröschner, born in 1964 in Magdeburg, has lived in Berlin as a writer since 1983. She became well known for her novels Moskauer Eis (2000) and Walpurgistag (2011). Together with Peggy Mädler and Wenke Seemann, she co-authored the bestseller Drei ostdeutsche Frauen betrinken sich und gründen den idealen Staat (2024). Annett Gröschner has received numerous awards, including the Berlin Grand Art Prize (Fontane Prize) and the Klopstock Prize. Her most recent novel, Schwebende Lasten (2025), was nominated for the German Book Prize.
Sabine Rennefanz, born in 1974 in Beeskow, rose to fame as an author with her bestselling book Eisenkinder. Die stille Wut der Wendegeneration. She is one of Germany’s leading columnists, was a longtime editor at the Berliner Zeitung, and works as a journalist for publications such as Der Spiegel and Der Tagesspiegel. Her reports and essays have earned her prestigious awards, including the Theodor Wolff Prize and the German Reporter Award. In 2024, her novel Kosakenberg was published. She lives in Berlin with her family.
Aron Boks, born in 1997 in Wernigerode, lives in Berlin-Neukölln, working as an author, slam poet, and presenter. Together with Jonathan Schmitz, he forms the spoken-word band Das Zappelnde Tanzorchester.
In 2019, he received the Klopstock Sponsorship Award for New Literature. Since 2021, he has been writing primarily for taz and the FUTURZWEI column Voice of My Generation.
In spring 2023, Aron Boks published his book Nackt in der DDR, a literary exploration of his great-granduncle Willi Sitte. His latest book, Starkstromzeit. Vom Leben in einem Staat, den es nicht mehr gibt, was released in September 2025.
Gabriela Braden-Becker was a DJ in East Berlin and Brandenburg in the late 70s and early 80s. In 1979, she and three other female disc entertainers, as they were known in the cultural jargon of the authorities, played at the Palast der Republik. In the 80s, she worked at DT 64, the youth radio station of Berlin Radio.
Daniela Greinert, born in 1971, grew up in Berlin. As a schoolgirl, she became familiar with the Palace of the Republic. She trained as a lettering and graphic artist and as a computer graphics specialist. Since 1993, she has been working in the museum sector with a focus on archaeology, initially as a freelance scientific graphic designer and, since 2001, as an employee at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History.