International Stefan Heym Society e. V. - Events in June 2022
Thursday, 9 June, 6 pm
Homecoming. Stefan Heym as an American soldier in Chemnitz, spring 1945
Annotated reading
Venue: State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz (smac), Stefan-Heym-Platz 1
Admission: 3 euros, reduced 2 euros, (free admission for members of the participating organisations)
A few weeks after the end of the Second World War, Stefan Heym, a non-commissioned officer in the American armed forces stationed in Germany, made his own way to his heavily destroyed hometown of Chemnitz. It was his first reunion with the city since his escape from the National Socialists in March 1933. During his stay, which lasted only a few hours, Heym travelled to important places from his youth and childhood, searched for his father's grave and met with officers from the Soviet commandant's office. This resulted in a series of impressive photographs, which have been preserved in Stefan Heym's estate and are presented here in full for the first time.
A joint event organised by the International Stefan Heym Society, the Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology (smac) and the Chemnitz History Society.
Thursday, 16 June, 7 p.m.
Stefan Heym's masterpiece: 50 years of "The King David Report"
Contemporary witness talk with Heinfried Henniger
Venue: Stefan Heym Forum in the TIETZ, 3rd floor
Admission: 6 euros, reduced 3 euros
Towards the end of 1973 - Stefan Heym celebrated his 60th birthday in April - an extraordinary novel was published by the Berlin book publisher Der Morgen: "Der König David Bericht". Published a year earlier in West Germany, the novel became a political and literary event in the GDR, and rightly so.
The Honecker state had surprisingly lifted its publication ban. Stefan Heym cunningly brought a gripping and bloody episode from the Old Testament into the present and thus made the cult of personality, the arbitrariness of rulers and the behaviour of a totalitarian "court" seem timeless. Heinfried Henniger worked closely with Stefan Heym as an editor for the book publisher Der Morgen from the 1970s onwards. The evening will be hosted by Dr Ulrike Uhlig.
ATTENTION:
Contrary to what is stated in the 2022 annual programme, the event will take place on 16 June (and not 14 June).