Review 2025 – What moved the Exile Archive

Dear friends of the German Exile Archive, dear supporters,
2025 was a year full of encounters, new partnerships and lively discussions about history, democracy and the culture of remembrance. We would like to thank you very much for your support and trust!

We wish you all happy Hanukkah, a merry Christmas, wonderful holiday season and send our warmest regards.

Sylvia Asmus and the entire team at the Exile Archive

Exhibitions & Digital Formats

Education & Outreach

Events: Literature, Dialogue, Remembrance

Networking & Dialogue Exchange

Collection: Significant New Acquisitions

Publications & Lectures

Exhibitions & Digital Formats

Our permanent exhibition: New perspectives, new approaches

Our expanded permanent exhibition, „Exile: Experience and Testimony,“ which reopened in December 2024, is dedicated to the topic of exile, incorporating new content, approaches and perspectives. This year, the exhibition attracted great interest from the public; tours and workshops for school classes were also in high demand. More information about the permanent exhibition can be found here. An interactive tour is also available via the „Actionbound“ app for smartphones.

In collaboration with the agency Navos Create, we have produced a short film on the topic of exile:

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Exhibition „Just Ask!“

Due to high demand, we will be extending our exhibition „Just Ask!“ and presenting it until 2027. We are delighted by the tremendous interest, including from the research community. We were able to present the digital interactive interviews with Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier at many other venues, at festivals, conferences, and in public urban spaces. A particularly special highlight was Inge Auerbacher’s visit to Frankfurt from New York in November!

History on the Move

Our pop-up exhibition „Newcomers. People in Exile“ was on display this year at the German National Library in Leipzig as well as part of the history festival „Weimarer Rendez-vous mit der Geschichte“ [Weimar Rendez-vous with History] in Weimar. The exhibition, whose title draws on a term coined by Hannah Arendt, presents ten individuals in life-size figure displays who were forced into exile after 1933.

Education & Outreach

Critical education on antisemitism – internal and external

This year, we placed a thematic focus on engaging with antisemitism.

We offered educational programs critically addressing antisemitism both internally for colleagues and externally for students and the general public. As an internal initiative, we presented, among other things, the exhibition „Ja, DAS ist Antisemitismus“ [Yes, THIS is antisemitsm] by RIAS Hessen, which was accompanied by a workshop with Dr. Susanne Urban, head of the RIAS reporting office. In 2025, we also established a collaboration with RIAS Hessen (see press release).

External educational offerings included, among others, a multi-day workshop during a project week in collaboration with the Helmholtz School in Frankfurt, participation in the action weeks against antisemitism with topic-specific tours and events, as well as the workshop „Learning, Questioning, Understanding Antisemitism“ with the author and lecturer Gunda Trepp for students in Leipzig.

Strong Response in the 2024/25 School Year and Semester

We are delighted by the strong response to our educational programs. In 2025, 70 school classes visited us, with over 1,400 students participating in workshops and tours. In addition, many university students visited us with their seminars. You can read more about our educational offerings on our blog.

Learning On Site: New Formats, Special Collaborations

This year, we have developed numerous new educational formats. The offerings are content-wise linked to our on-site exhibitions as well as our virtual exhibition Arts in Exile. You can find an overview of our educational programs here.

Particular highlights this year included, among others:

• As part of our participation in the Anne Frank Days and the Jewish Culture Weeks, we developed a two-hour city tour on the topic „Frankfurt Children and Youth in Exile“, which received great interest.
• The „In Echt?“ [Really?] (Brandenburg Museum for Future, Present and History), which also presents digital forms of contemporary witness testimony, visited the forecourt of the German National Library with a mobile exhibition truck. In a joint workshop, many young people explored and compared the offerings „Just Ask!“ and „In Echt?“
• Under the question „AI and Holocaust Remembrance – Can They Go Together?“, the Exile Archive participated in the Digital Day of the City of Frankfurt as well as the nationwide Digital Day.
• Workshops with the Police: The workshop „The Role of the Police in the Nazi State: Based on the Life Stories and Memories of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier“ is now firmly established in the program of police stations in Hesse.
• In Leipzig, the 16th Jewish Week was celebrated from June 15 to June 22. More than 60 institutions and associations participated in the program. The Anne Frank Shoah Library of the Exile Archive was also part of the event.

Events: Literature, Dialogue, Remembrance

In 2025, we were able to offer an extensive program of readings, discussion series, debates, and book premieres. Here, we highlight just four of the many events; below, you can find impressions of all the events in the photo gallery.

In our discussion series „The Present of Exile – Friedman asks…“, which we developed in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Michel Friedman, this year featured Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour and Bundestag Vice President and former Thuringian Minister-President Bodo Ramelow. The conversation with Bodo Ramelow took place on October 31 as the opening event of the history festival „Weimarer Rendez-vous mit der Geschichte.“ [Weimar Rendez-vous with History] You can also listen to the event as a podcast.

We are especially pleased that this year two manuscripts from the Exile Archive’s collection were published: Lili Körber’s novel „Farewell to Yesterday“ and Lili Cassel-Wronker’s illustrated diary „London Diary“. Both books were published by the publisher „Das Kulturelle Gedächtnis“, and we celebrated each release with a book presentation in Frankfurt. The „Abend für Lili Körber” [Evening for Lili Körber] is available as a recording on our blog. More about the book can be found on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. The book was also discussed on the Literarisches Quartett (minute mark 24–34).

On August 28, 2025, the author Dr. Eva Weissweiler presented her 2024 book „Lisa Fittko: Biographie einer Fluchthelferin“ [Lisa Fittko: Biography of a Refugee Helper], honoring with this first complete biography the eventful life of a remarkable woman. Lisa Fittko’s estate is part of the Exile Archive’s collection.

On January 30, 2025, Ruth Frenk offered insights into the life of her aunt, poet Emma Kann, and presented a selection of her poems at the event „Heimatkos. Leben und Werk der Lyrikerin Emma Kann“ [Homeless: Life and Work of the Poet Emma Kann]. The event was accompanied by an impressive video composition by the artist Bette Bayer. Emma Kann’s estate is held in the Exile Archive.

Networking & Dialogue Exchange

In 2025, our work was continually shaped by exchange, inspiring encounters, and new perspectives that emerged from:

Art in Camps and Ghettos

The international conference brought together scholars and artists. The two-day conference in Frankfurt am Main took place on 21 October at the German National Library and on 22 October at Goethe University. It was a cooperation between the Exile Archive and IFRA (the Franco German Institute), Goethe University, the Association „Mémoires Musicales Sans Frontière“ (Pau, France), and the ITEM Laboratory at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour.

Awareness training on engaging with Deaf visitors

On 26 March, sign language interpreter, historian, and educator Mark Zaurov spoke with the Exile Archive team in an internal online workshop about engaging with Deaf visitors in exhibitions and museums. He also presented his research on the „Deaf Holocaust“.

kulturweit-Incoming

For the second time, the Exile Archive took part in the UNESCO program „kulturweit-Incoming.“ This year, from September to mid-November, a student from Ukraine was a visiting intern at the Exile Archive. The time she spent with us was a great enrichment for everyone. As part of the program, a very well-attended Ukrainian-language guided tour took place through the permanent exhibition „Exile: Experience and Testimony.“

Workshop ‚Object Photography‘ with the Hessian Museum Association

In May, the Exile Archive hosted a two-day workshop by the Hessischer Museumsverband [Hessian Museum Association] on object photography in digital collections work.

EHRI/ERIC Conny Kristel Fellowship 2025 at the Exile Archive

Since the end of July, the Exile Archive has been part of the Conny Kristel Fellowship Programme of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure Consortium (EHRI-ERIC). The programme is aimed at international researchers as well as archival and library professionals and curators.

Networking Conference ‚Artificial Intelligence in Democracy: Algorithms in Power?‚

On 21 May, the Exile Archive took part in the networking conference organized by the State Agency for Civic Education Baden-Württemberg. In the expert discussion „AI and Memory Culture,“ Dr. Sylvia Asmus presented the digital interactive interviews, which participants were able to independently interact with.

Reading Festival in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

To open the reading festival in Taiwan, Dr. Sylvia Asmus gave a talk about the Exile Archive on 15 November. The following day, she spoke with Liao Yiwu about the question „Living in Exile: What Does That Mean?“ The writer, who received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, has been living in exile in Germany since 2011. More about the trip here.

Project ‚Jüdisches Leben erFahren‘ in Wurzen

In 2025, the Exile Archive once again took part in the project „Jüdisches Leben erFahren“ [Experience Jewish Life] (Ariowitsch-Haus e.V., Leipzig) with its digital interactive testimonies. On 14 September, Theresia Biehl presented the interviews in the mobile cultural and community center on the market square in Wurzen.

General Assembly of the Society for Exile Studies

At the general assembly of the Gesellschaft für Exilforschung e.V. [Society for Exile Studies] on 8 May, Prof. Dr. Andrea Hammel was elected Chair, and Dr. Sylvia Asmus was elected Vice Chair.

Koop Litera Germany

At this year’s KOOP Litera Germany conference on provenance, co-organized by Dr. Jörn Hasenclever, Dr. Sylvia Asmus provided insights into the importance of provenance for the work of the Exile Archive.

Summer School ‚VR and AR in Teaching the History of National Socialism‚

From 29 September to 2 October, the Exile Archive was represented at the International Summer School at the Babelsberg Film University with the project „Just Ask!“ and the digital interactive interviews. In a workshop and hands-on course, Dr. Sylvia Asmus and Theresia Biehl presented the project and its educational concepts. More about the Summer School here.

Staged installation ‚Ein Fisch, der auf dem Trockenen schwimmt‚ [A Fish That Swims on Dry Land]

A special exchange took place as part of the Jewish Culture Weeks 2025. Director Martha Kottwitz, together with her team, developed a staged installation dedicated to the artist Erna Pinner. Drawings and texts from the Exile Archive’s collection were used in the piece, and the venue itself was impressively staged.

Special Guests at the Exile Archive:

We would like to highlight a few visits to the Exile Archive in particular. We were especially pleased about the visits and the exchange with:

• Federal Minister of State for Culture and the Media, Dr. Wolfram Weimer
• State Secretary Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert, Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
• The Consul General of the State of Israel for Southern Germany, Talya Lador-Fresher
• Chancellor of Goethe University Frankfurt, Dr. Ulrich Breuer
• Anna-Seghers-translator Claudia Cabrera Luna
• Educational institution Anne Frank
• Jewish Museum Frankfurt
• State Agency for Civic Education of Baden-Württemberg
• OFEK. Counselling and support after antisemitic incidents
• The Exile Museum Berlin Foundation team, led by Director Ruth Ur
• Förderverein Ehemalige Synagoge Kippenheim e.V. [Association of Friends of the Former Synagogue in Kippenheim]
• Hessischer Museumsverbung [Hessian Museum Association]
• A delegation of librarians and researchers from Taiwan

Collection: Significant New Acquisitions

We are pleased to share outstanding additions to our collection:

The Estate of Heinrich Oswalt at the Exile Archive

The Exile Archive received the estate of Heinrich Oswalt (1920–1996) as a donation. Heinrich Oswalt, the son of Frankfurt publisher Wilhelm Ernst Oswalt, emigrated to Switzerland, however his father and his brother Ludwig Oswalt were murdered. His father’s publishing house, „Rütten & Loening,“ published „Struwwelpeter“. The estate includes correspondence, including business and family letters with his father and brother as well as other family members, and personal documents, such as certificates and family photographs.

The Robert Hans Olschwanger Collection Now Accessible Worldwide

The outstanding collection of the graphic artist and caricaturist Robert Hans Olschwanger (1905–1998) has been made digitally accessible worldwide. It includes hundreds of the artist’s original caricatures, among them many works created in exile dealing with events in territories under National Socialist rule.

Handover of Teddy „Mary“ by Irene Auerbach

Irene Auerbach personally handed over her small lifelong companion, „Teddy Mary,“ to Dr. Sylvia Asmus for inclusion in the Exile Archive’s collection. She had received the teddy as a child from designer Charlotte Bondy, who, like Irene Auerbach and her family, had found refuge from the Nazis in the United Kingdom. Other plush toys made by Charlotte Bondy are already part of the Exile Archive’s holdings, but none had been played with as lovingly as Teddy Mary. Her sister, Dr. Lore Auerbach, supplemented the donation with additional documents.

In addition, we were able to acquire the following estates, partial estates, and archives:

• Archive of the Instituto de Investigaciones Interculturales Germano-Mexicanas: deposit copies; correspondence, primarily letters from Renata von Hanffstengel; photos from the Instituto’s founding meeting; newspaper clippings.
• Partial archive of Herbert Stuffer: correspondence, mainly letters from Benedikt F. Dolbin and Stephan Ehrenzweig.
• Estate of Karl Wirtz (1903–1986): manuscripts and typescripts from Brazil, including „Jequitahi, or: Bunte Diamanten“; correspondence, including family letters; personal documents, including passports.
• Fragmentary estate of Wolf Bergmann (1904–1972): works (manuscripts, typescripts, deposit copies); correspondence, including two letters from Ludwig Meidner.
• Estate of Peter Thullen (1907–1996): correspondence; personal documents, including records related to “restitution” (restitution/compensation).
• Fragmentary estate of Nina Körber (1903–1991): correspondence; a set of materials related to „Theater für 49“, including scene photographs, stage sketches, posters, and programmes for performances.
• Partial estate of Anna Gmeyner (1902–1991): typescripts of works, including „The Airey Mouse“, „The Cobbler of Goerlitz“, and „The Crescent“.
• Martin Breuer Collection: works, including publications, postcards, advertising material, and drawings/illustrations by Walter Trier.
• Rolf Beyer Archive: correspondence with Karl August Wittfogel and a collection of materials.

Additions to existing estates:

• The partial estate of Marie Weiss was supplemented with a set of letters.
• The estate of Oeste de Bopp was expanded with an extensive addition consisting of works, correspondence, personal documents, and collected materials.
• The estate of Werner Lansburgh was supplemented with a larger set of typescripts and deposit copies.
• The papers of Hubertus Prince zu Löwenstein were expanded with additional documents.

Single Autographs (selection):

• Passport of Helene Morgenstern, née Lorsch.
• Set of correspondence from Marie Liefmann to Litschan Volhard, 1946–1948.
• Memorabilia from the estate of Ruth Weiss.

Publications & Lectures

In 2025, numerous contributions from the Exile Archive were published, and through many talks, we were able to share our work with others.

Podcast:
Daniel S. Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, invited Dr. Sylvia Asmus to his podcast. The episode can be listened to here: Preserving Stories of the Exiles Who Fled Nazi Persecution (bnaibrith.org) [more on this: Podcast „Conversations with B’nai B’rith“ – blog.dnb.de]

Academic articles:
Sylvia Asmus: Bestände zu Lion Feuchtwanger im Deutschen Exilarchiv 1933–1945. In: Feuchtwanger and Exile Studies Journal / IFS Newsletter. Vol. 44 (2025), pp. 30-31.

Sylvia Asmus: „Die deutsche Exilpresse in ihrer Gesamtheit“. Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Exilpresse. In: Zwischen Zeilen und Zeiten. Buchhandel und Verlage 1825 – 2025. Eine andere Geschichte des Börsenvereins. Wallstein 2025, pp. 435-436. 

Sylvia Asmus: Digital Interactive Interviews at the German National Librarys German Exile Archive 1933–1945. In: Technology Meets Testimony. Digital Pathways to Holocaust Survivors‘ Biographies. Hrsg. von Anja Ballis; Florian Duda und Markus Gloe. Wiesbaden, Springer Fachmedien, 2025, pp. 287-297.

Sylvia Asmus: Frag nach! Digitale interaktive Interviews mit Inge Auerbacher und Kurt Salomon Maier. Chancen und Grenzen digitaler Erinnerungskultur | Just ask! – Digital interactive interviews with Inge Auerbacher and Kurt Salomon Maier: Opportunities and limitations of a digital culture of remembrance. In: In Echt? – Erinnern in der digitalen Zukunft. NS-Zeitzeugenschaft und neue Technologien in Bildung, Vermittlung und Praxis, von Katalin Krasznahorkai; Johanna Schüller und Björn Stockleben. Bielefeld, [transcript], 2025, pp. 127-132.

Sylvia Asmus: „‚Ich hoffe, ihr […] diskutiert miteinander‘. Interaktive digitale Interviews im Deutschen Exilarchiv 1933-1945“. In: Forum Wissenschaft, 42. Jg., Nr. 1, März 2025, S. 15-19.

Sylvia Asmus; Moritz Wagner (Hg): Text + Kritik 247 – Ulrich Becher. München, text + kritik, 2025.

Sylvia Asmus: Material exterritorialer Herkunft – Das Deutsche Exilarchiv als Speicher für die Erinnerung an das Exil. In: Breiter Kanon. Hrsg. von Martina Wernli. Berlin: De Gruyter 2025, pp. 19-32.

Sylvia Asmus; Moritz Wagner: Ulrich Becher digital. Zur virtuellen Zusammenführung eines geteilten Exilnachlasses. In: Text + Kritik 247 – Ulrich Becher. München, text + kritik, 2025, pp. 3-10.

Sylvia Asmus: Spuren der Schriftstellerin Vicki Baum im Deutschen Exilarchiv 1933-1945. In: Vicki Baum und Amerika. Hrsg. von Julia Bertschik und Bernd Zegowitz. Göttingen, Wallstein, 2025, pp. 91-102. (in press)

Numerous other blog posts by the Exile Archive team can be accessed via the following link: https://blog.dnb.de/

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