Lesung: »Ich verwandle mich«. Aufzeichnungen unter russischer Besatzung. Ausgewählte Gedichte. Ein Abend in Gedenken an Volodymyr Vakulenko und Victoria Amelina

In the organizer's words:

Dr. Katja Schlenker (German) and Iryna Marchenko (Ukrainian) will read. Dr. Franziska Davies, historian of Eastern Europe and President of the German-Ukrainian Society, will give a lecture in German.

The Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Vakulenko (born 1972) was able to write down his thoughts and observations until March 24, 2022, when he was abducted by Russian soldiers. His body was later discovered in a mass grave. Thanks to the Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina (born 1986), Vakulenko's notes were saved and published. Just a few days later, she herself was the victim of a Russian missile attack - on July 1, 2023, Vakulenko's birthday.

The book "Ich verwandle mich - Aufzeichnungen unter russischer Besatzung" (mauke-Verlag, translated from Ukrainian by Beatrix Kersten) is a warning testimony to the Russian war of terror against all people in Ukraine.

An event organized by the German-Ukrainian Society, Für unsere und eure Freiheit e.V., the Institute of Historical Sciences, the Chair of Eastern European History at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the Association for the Promotion of the City Partnership Düsseldorf-Czernowitz, the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus Foundation and Ridne Slowo e. V. as part of the event series "Ukraine is here".

Background
In the "Ukraine is here" series of events, renowned Ukrainian authors, academics and cultural workers will have their say. They present the history, culture and language of Ukraine and also invite a (non-Ukrainian) guest to engage in dialog. "Ukraine is here" is a series of events organized by the Gerhart Hauptmann House Foundation, the Karl Arnold Foundation, the Consulate General of Ukraine in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Düsseldorf City Libraries. Co-financed by the European Union in local cooperation with Düsseldorfer Beiträgen Respekt und Mut, Ridne Slowo e. V., the Verein zur Förderung der Städtepartnerschaft Düsseldorf Czernowitz e. V. and the Studyon Institute for Language and Interculture Düsseldorf and Lviv