February 2025 in Berlin: A Month of Culture and Entertainment
Film, Music, and Dance Take Center Stage in the German Capital
February 05th, 2025
On January 27, 2025, the Italian Embassy in Berlin, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Jewish Community of Berlin, commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a special event. The evening featured journalist Enrico Mentana, who presented the testimony of Senator Liliana Segre, a Holocaust survivor, as recounted in their co-authored book, La memoria rende liberi. La vita interrotta di una bambina nella Shoah (Memory Makes Us Free: The Interrupted Life of a Girl in the Shoah). This work has recently been translated into German under the title Erinnern macht frei. Das unterbrochene Leben eines Mädchens in der Shoah.
During the event, Mentana engaged in a dialogue with translator Ulrike Schimming, while actress Elettra De Salvo read excerpts from the book. The evening was enriched by musical interludes performed by pianist Giuseppe Guarrera. Additionally, the Jüdisches Gemeindehaus inaugurated photographer Lutz Müller-Bohlen's exhibition, "Suche nach G’tt… In Auschwitz und Birkenau" ("Searching for God... In Auschwitz and Birkenau"), which showcases contemporary images of the former concentration camps.
Liliana Segre was deported to Auschwitz with her family during World War II. Having survived the Holocaust, she has dedicated herself to sharing her harrowing experiences to raise awareness against intolerance, racism, and antisemitism. Her collaboration with Mentana in documenting her story serves as a poignant reminder of the atrocities of the past and underscores the importance of remembrance in preventing future injustices.
