QueerHistoryMonth | Die weite Welt – New York bis Kapstadt | Lesung und Gespräch mit Lutz van Dijk

In the organizer's words:

QUEERHISTORYMONTH

QueerHistoryMonth will take place in Hamburg from May 1 to 31, 2026(www.queerhistoryhamburg.de). Various events as part of the festival will bring the history(ies) of the queer community in Hamburg to life. Everyone is welcome - kings, queers, queens, allies, friends, families (of choice) and everyone in between and beyond!

Event

GEW Hamburg invites you to a reading and discussion with Lutz van Dijk: Lutz van Dijk talks about his coming out as a then young teacher and reads from his book Die weite Welt (Querverlag 2026).

Author and educator Lutz van Dijk reads from his newly published autobiographical book Die weite Welt - New York bis Kapstadt. In it, he recounts the formative stages of his life, first at 18 in New York, then from 1975 as a student and teacher in Hamburg, later as a journalist in Jerusalem, as an employee of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and now for almost 25 years at 70 in Cape Town.

The evening will focus on his memories as the youngest teacher at a special school in Hamburg-Billstedt and his involvement in the emerging gay movement, from the HAH (Homosexual Action Hamburg) to the founding of the MHC (Magnis-Hirschfeld Center). Terms such as "queer" or "rainbow family" in today's sense did not yet exist.

After the welcoming address by GEW chairman Sven Quierng, Lutz van Dijk will report and read. It will be exciting that numerous contemporary witnesses who are still friends today will be present: Members of his first flat share, his first principal (now 85), who supported his coming out as a young teacher, or the two children from his rainbow family at the time, who now have children and families of their own.

In the second part of the evening, there will be an opportunity to talk to the audience.

___________________________________________________

Date: May 04, 2026

Time: 19:00 to 21:00

Location: Curiohaus, Rothenbaumchaussee 11, 20148 Hamburg

Organized by: Trade Union for Education and Science (GEW)

Welcome: Sven Quierng (Chairman of GEW Hamburg)

Guest: Lutz van Dijk

The event is free of charge. Registration is not required. The event is barrier-free accessible.

___________________________________________________

Notes

Photos and video recordings can be made as part of the public relations work for QueerHistoryMonth.

QueerHistoryMonth is only responsible for marketing and coordination and is not the organizer of the individual events.

All organizational and content-related tasks, including security, permits and insurance, are the sole responsibility of the respective organizers (responsible organization).

The QHM is not liable for the content, organization or damages that occur during the events. The organizers shall indemnify the QHM against all third-party claims, including those for injury, property damage or loss.