Port-Bou. In memoriam Walter Benjamin

Lecture by Marc Sagnol and world premiere of his poem "Port-Bou", set to music by Rudolf Hild, with Alexandra Lidy (vocals), Liene Henkel (piano) and Eugen Mantu (cello)

Welcome: Prof. Dr. Reinhard Schramm, Chairman of the Jewish Community of Thuringia

85 years ago, on September 25, 1940, Walter Benjamin attempted to cross the French-Spanish border with a small group of refugees. The important philosopher and cultural critic, born to a Jewish family in Berlin in 1892, had fled from the National Socialists to France in 1933 and now hoped to reach Lisbon via Spain and from there to the USA. The group was led by Lisa Fittko, a Czech resistance fighter who helped hundreds of people persecuted by the Nazi regime to escape.

The refugees had to take a short route through the Pyrenees as none of them had the necessary papers. Benjamin was exhausted and the march was incredibly exhausting for him. When they reached the border town of Port-Bou, the Spanish police threatened to hand him over to the French border guards and thus to the Gestapo. On the night of September 26, he took his own life. Walter Benjamin was buried in Port-Bou, the other refugees were able to continue their journey. Today, a memorial in Port-Bou commemorates Walter Benjamin and the other exiles.

In his lecture, Marc Sagnol reconstructs Walter Benjamin's escape from Paris via Marseille to Port-Bou. He is an excellent expert on Benjamin's life and work and is very familiar with the places and the "chemin Lisa Fittko" in the Pyrenees. He wrote the poem "Port-Bou" in memory of Walter Benjamin in September 2023 at the place where his escape failed.

A joint event by Kultur: Haus Dacheröden, Topf & Sons Memorial, Weimarer Rendez-vous mit der Geschichte, Jewish Community of Thuringia and Kammermusikverein Erfurt e. V.