This year’s Campus Weeks “Germany meets the U.S. have a focus on “Jewish Life in Germany Today.”
Through movies, literary readings, an exhibition, and a video competition, we would like to raise awareness of contemporary Jewish Life in Germany. The events are generously sponsored by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
October 5, 2016, 6:30pm, Hurley Center 328 (in German with English Subtitles)
Film Screening: Ein Apartment in Berlin
Berlin has become a magnet for young Israelis – and the three characters at the center of this film are no expectation. More than 100 years ago Simon and Rosa Adler came to Berlin from Galicia to fulfill their dreams. Their apartment is now lovingly restored by three young Israelis. Along with the filmmaker they examine the complex connection to the history of Germany.- Written by Anonymous [on IMDB]
October 10, 2016, 6:30pm, Hurley Center Digital Auditorium (in German with English Subtitles)
Film Screening: “Aimee and Jaguar”
“It is 1943 as Allied bombs are pelting Berlin and Lilly Wust (Maria Schrader) is bringing up four children as her husband Gunther (Detlev Buck) is away fighting the war. Lilly has a few affairs to help with the absence of affection and being a loyal German she has a bust of Hitler prominently displayed in her house. When Lilly receives a love letter form an admirer who signs off as Jaguar she assumes it is from a man but is intrigued when she discovers that Felice Schragenheim (Maria Schrader) a local journalist is initiating the romance, a relationship forbidden in Germany. Awakened to a passion she has never known Lilly falls madly in love with Felice and moves to divorce her husband causing a mad storm of controversy as the relationship is a lesbian affair and Felice is Jewish and works against Germany as a resistance fighter. The two women make a love pact and try to block out the anti-Jewish persecution of the Nazi movement, but their time is running out. (Source: IMDB)”
October 19, 2016 6:30pm, Hurley Center Digital Auditorium (in German with English Subtitles)
Film Screening: Alles auf Zucker [Go for Sugar]
A Journalist of Jewish descent in Berlin feels that he is a loser of the political changes in Germany after 1989. When his mother dies, he has to meet his brother to whom he has not talked for years and to meet all his other family members. But during the preparations for the funeral he plays a snooker-cup for paying his debts with the money for the victory, and many other things mixes up.- Written by Benjamin Stello [on IMDB]
October 24, 6:30pm, University Center – Chandler Ballroom
German Gala and Reading (German/English) by German Writer Esther Dischereit
Tickets
In advance at 223 Combs Hall:
Students – $5 (+ one meal swipe at the door)
UMW guests – $10
At the door:
Students – $7 (+ one meal swipe at the door)
UMW guests – $12
About the author
Esther Dischereit was born in 1952 in Germany and lives in Berlin. She studied in Frankfurt am Main and was trained as a teacher. She worked in the metal industry, later became a typesetter, and finally worked for the German trade unions.
Poet, novelist, essayist, stage and radio dramatist, her works include Joëmi‘s Table, Merryn (prose), The Morning the Paperboy (collection of shortstories), When My Golem Opened the Door, Hoarfrosted Mouth and Other News, There’s a Slice of Bread in the Toaster (poems), Lessons in Being Jewish, With Eichmann at the Stock Exchange (Essays). Last production was the radio-play: Nothing to know but Coffee to go, premiered 2008.
Esther Dischereit was a fellow at the Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European and Jewish Studies and has lectured widely in the United States, also in Canada. She has been a fellow at the Deutsches Haus New York in 2004, gave readings and lectures: lectures at New York University Berlin 2008; 5th Poetry World Festival Venezuela, 2008, participated in KISUFIM, first international conference of Jewish writers, Jerusalem, 2007, guest of honor, Wig Conference, USA, 2006; luncheon speaker GSA Conference, Pittsburgh, USA, 2006; reading at Princeton University, USA, 2006; Washington-University, St. Louis, 2006 – USA-Tour, organized by the German foreign ministry, Washington, 2006, guest at the Festival de Poesia, Medellin, Columbia in 2002; at the University of Illinois, Chicago; Madison, Tufts/ MIT, Brandeis, Boston; Cornell University, Ithaca; University of California, Berkeley
In 2009 Esther Dischereit received the Erich-Fried-Prize. In the fall semester 2010 Esther Dischereit was Max Kade German Writer-in-Residence at Oberlin College and Conservatory, Ohio.
Her poems were also published in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, in the magazine Odra, Poland; El Jabali, Argentina and Prometeo, Columbia., in 2006, at Princeton University, MIT Boston, and in Canada. She has won stipends from the Hessian Ministry for Science and Art, the Preussische Seehandlung Foundation in Berlin, the Berlin Senate and the Ernst-Strassmann-Foundation. A symposium about Esther Dischereit’s work was held at the University of Wales, Swansea, in 2003. In the 1990s she founded the wordMusic Group (together with Raymond Kaczynski, percussion, and others).
Click here for the evening’s events:german-gala-october-24
November 1, 2016 6:00-8:00, Room tbd
Video Contest Presentations
Our video contest challenges the participants to find German traces in and around Fredericksburg. Discover the Germanna settlers and Salubria. Find material reminders of famous German-Americans such as John G. Hurkamp and Fritz Stern in the center of town. Talk to Germans living among us, visit a German restaurant… Be curious, be bold, be creative!
Cash prizes of $150 (1st price), $100 (2nd price) and $50 (3rd price) for the best submissions.
Submit your videos of up to 5 minutes to Jakob Ruetschle (jrutschl @ umw.edu) by October 28.
Visit the national “Germany meets the U.S.” webpage.
