Die Kunst zu trauern - Szenische Lesung mit Christiane Mudra

"The indifference with which they move through the rubble finds its exact counterpart in the fact that no one mourns the dead; it is reflected in the apathy with which they react, or rather do not react, to the fate of the refugees in their midst. This general lack of feeling, but in any case the obvious callousness, which is sometimes masked with cheap sentimentality, is only the most conspicuous outward symptom of a deeply rooted, stubborn and occasionally brutal refusal to face up to what has actually happened and to come to terms with it." - Hannah Arendt

Based on Hannah Arendt's visit to Germany, Alexander and Margarete Mitscherlich's The Inability to Mourn and the notes of war correspondents Lee Miller, Martha Gellhorn and Margaret Bourke-White, the staged reading reflects on the rejection of grief and responsibility in post-war Germany. Based on the testimonies of contemporary witnesses, the evening sheds light on the widespread de-realization after the end of the war. What is the situation today in the country of the 'world champions of remembrance'? What does it mean to mourn? Do we have the courage today to really know?

Text and direction: Christiane Mudra
Read by: Gabriele Graf, Melda Hazırcı, Stefan Lehnen
Technical installation: Peer Quednau