Zum 125. Geburtstag von Rose Ausländer (1901–1988). Rose Ausländer – Heimatlos im Steinbruch der Wörter. Ein Abend mit »Dein Theater – Wortkino« (Stuttgart)

In the organizer's words:

Rose Ausländer would be 125 years old on May 11, 2026. She is considered one of the most important German-language poets of the 20th century. Born in 1901 into a Jewish family in Czernowitz, the capital of the then Austro-Hungarian province of Bukovina, Rose Ausländer survived the mass murder of European Jews by the Nazi regime after her home town was also occupied by German and Romanian troops in the course of Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union at the beginning of July 1941. Liberated in 1944 as one of the few survivors by the advancing Red Army, Rose Ausländer then lived in Romania and the USA before returning to Europe in 1964. In 1965, she moved to Düsseldorf, where she lived until her death in 1988. Chernivtsi, now part of Ukraine, has been one of Düsseldorf's twin cities since 2022. The two cities are linked not least by the shared legacy of Rose Ausländer's world-famous work.

To mark the 125th anniversary of her birth, the Rose Ausländer Society is organizing a multi-day symposium together with Heinrich Heine University (10 to 13 May 2026), which will shed light on the poet's life and work. We are proud that the kick-off event will take place in our building on the eve of the actual birthday. It was here that Rose Ausländer gave her last public reading in 1977 on the occasion of the award of the Andreas Gryphius Prize. The ensemble of "Dein Theater - Wortkino" (Stuttgart) will make numerous texts by Rose Ausländer audible. At the same time, we will be showing the exhibition "Three hours in the life of the poet Rose Ausländer" with the atmospherically dense photos that the well-known photographer Stefan Moses (1928-2018) was allowed to take of her in 1977.

The evening begins with a small reception from 5 p.m., from 6 p.m. "Dein Theater - Wortkino" will be playing.

Please register informally at sekretariat@g-h-h.de by May 4, 2026.

A joint event of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus Foundation and the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation Düsseldorf e.V.