Mannheim in Luggage: 13 life stories make the German division tangible
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
"Mannheim in Luggage": Life stories make the German division tangible
History gains its most intense form when people tell their own stories. The exhibition "Mannheim in Luggage" at MARCHIVUM combines oral history, regional memory culture, and documentary storytelling. On November 10, 2026, 13 life story interviews will be at the center, where people from Mannheim and the region share their experiences with the German division, the Peaceful Revolution, and reunification.
Diverse perspectives on East and West
The narratives lead into childhood and youth, to personal experiences with East and West, as well as to the societal changes after 1989. From individual biographies, a nuanced panorama of German contemporary history emerges. Political upheavals do not appear as abstract data sequences, but as lived experiences with concrete voices, memory images, and personal turning points.
Oral history as a literary experience
The conversations conducted by Ina Rommee and Stefan Krauss from KRRO Film on behalf of MARCHIVUM unfold their impact through the immediacy of spoken language. Voices, pauses, and speech rhythm give the documentary material a special closeness. The reading atmosphere arises here through concentrated listening: The spoken recollection becomes an independent form of verbal art and cultural education.
Mannheim as a space of memory
"Mannheim in Luggage" shows how closely the history of East and West is connected to the city. Mannheim appears as a place of arrival, change, and new beginnings. Some interviewees left the GDR and built a new life in Mannheim, others experienced the upheavals from a West German perspective or brought experiences from other countries. Together, a multifaceted narrative mosaic about origin, identity, and social cohesion emerges.
Between exhibition, documentation, and memory culture
The format moves between exhibition, oral history, documentary storytelling, and literary perception. Its quality lies in the accuracy of the experienced: Each life story preserves individual experience while simultaneously expanding the cultural discourse on division, unity, and German memory. Visitors encounter not a one-dimensional chronicle, but a polyphonic narrative that makes historical developments personally tangible.
Conclusion: Encounter history live and personally
"Mannheim in Luggage" invites you to view German contemporary history anew through the voices of those who have lived it and shaped it. Those interested in literature, contemporary history, memory research, and regional culture experience at MARCHIVUM a compelling author encounter of a special kind: The immediate storytelling itself becomes a cultural event. Admission is free. A visit makes historical connections audible, visible, and personally experienced.
Official channels of Ina Rommee and Stefan Krauss:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- Website: no official profile found
- Publisher: no official profile found
