Miep Gies: Anne Frank's Arrest

Erzählung (Retelling)

URI German Literature and Film Event Monday Apr 14

I N V I T A T I O N The GERMAN section of the Language Department is very pleased to invite you to an exceptional public  Reading and Screening of the works of German writer JUREK BECKER“THE WALL” and “WHILE ALL GERMANS SLEEP” Mon, Apr. 14, at 4 PM, Hoffman Room (SWAN Hall) Jurek Becker (1937-1997), one of the most important (East) German authors of the 20th century, was born in Poland in 1937. As a child he lived in the Jewish ghetto of Łodz, Poland, and survived the Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. His novel Jacob the Liar, published in 1969, established his reputation worldwide and was made into two movies. Many of Becker's novels, short stories and scripts for television and cinema productions focus on explorations of Jewish identity.  Christine Becker will read from the short story collection The Wall which is a new, brief collection of stories by Becker that have either never been translated into English or published in the USA in book form before (Arcade Publishing on May 6, 2014), and she will introduce the film While All Germans Sleep (Director: Frank Beyer, screenplay: Jurek Becker, Germany, 1994, color, 72 min., with Engl. subtitles) For any questions please contact anettgeithner@mail.uri.edu We are very much looking forward to seeing you! --- CAN ANYONE JOIN THEM / US --  shortly after school a week from Monday ?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Subversive Religious Freedom Advocate

Posted on February 3rd, 2014 Culture, Thought Reform | 0 Comments

Feb. 4th marks what would be the 108^th birthday of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. An outspoken pastor, theologian, underground seminary professor, and spy against the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer’s young life was sadly cut short at the hands of Nazi interrogators.
Throughout his dynamic ministry, Bonhoeffer challenged both the Church and State to recognize and assume their providentially assigned roles. He implored the Church to be a faithful witness in a rapidly deteriorating society. And he spoke out against the grave abuses of governmental power.
While many of his contemporaries were either silent or conflicted in the face of quickly disintegrating freedoms, Bonhoeffer was a strong and steady voice of moral precision.
His story serves as a reminder of the necessity to be an active participant in the public square, particularly as it relates to preserving a just society.
Consider Bonhoeffer’s words to a generation faltering under the grinding pressures of a corrupt regime:
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in the prime of his life – only 39, and recently engaged. Yet even though he was young, Bonhoeffer had a profound influence on his generation and those that came after him.
As we honor the memory of Bonhoeffer, it’s crucial to remember that we also have the privilege and responsibility to engage in the public square. Though we are young, our voices matter and can have lasting and meaningful impact, not just in our time, but for future generations as well.

Bonhoeffer was hung on April 9 for his connection to ABWEHR, a subversive group trying to put an end to Hitler.  Two weeks later, the labor camp where this happened was liberated by US soldiers of the 90th and 97th Infantry divisions.  --Wikipedia