Narrating (Hi)stories
Talk and reading with Claudia Hamm and Henning Bochert
What does history tell us? About the meaning of life for an individual? About ideas, intrigues, and politicians? About everyday life and the values of an era? And what if history is told through the lens of a second gaze: in translation? Henning Bochert and Claudia Hamm present two exemplary books in which historical events are portrayed differently through the prism of various perspectives and languages—and for which they, in turn, had to find a new language.
In Höret meine Stimme!, David Vaughan describes the atmosphere during the Sudeten crisis in Czechoslovakia; in his great autobiographical family and historical epic Kolchose, Emmanuel Carrère explores European history since the Russian Revolution and its consequences for four generations. In both novels, political propaganda plays a role in the run-up to a land grab: Carrère’s mother, Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, as France’s leading expert on Russia, was misled by an image of Russia that turned reality on its head. Chamberlain and Czechoslovakia were misled by Hitler’s promises regarding the Sudetenland, with radio playing a decisive role. In both novels, there are protagonists who translate – and with them come new perspectives. Both books will be published in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair with KLAK Verlag and Matthes & Seitz publishers Berlin respectively.
27 Nov 2026 | 7:30 pm | 8 €
Golda books and more
Anklamer Strasse 39
10115 Berlin
Funded by Weltlesebühne e. V., with financial support from KLAK Verlag and Verlag Matthes & Seitz as well as Golda books and more.
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