Programmes

With exhibitions, talks, readings, films and educational programmes, our programmes create spaces for encounters, exchange and new perspectives. Various programme series connect the history of exile from 1933 to 1945 with questions of our time and invite visitors to reflect on democracy, belonging and social cohesion.

From Here – Fasanenstraße and Exile

With the exhibition "From Here," the Exilmuseum begins to engage with the building, the street and the neighbourhood in which it is being created. We are collecting the stories of people who once lived here and who, persecuted by the National Socialists, had to flee into exile. Visitors are invited to share their knowledge about people from the street and thus contribute to the ever-growing collection.

Von hier aus

Stories of Exile from Fasanenstraße

Portrait of a Street

Portrait of a Street

About the mural by illustrator Carlo Stanga

From Fasanenstraße to Auschwitz

From Fasanenstraße to Auschwitz

With historian Atina Grossmann

Embassies of Exile

Life in exile is always connected to at least two countries. This international perspective shapes the Exilmuseum. For the programme "Embassies of Exile", it works with embassies in Germany and abroad. This creates new partnerships and a global network.

The series focuses on largely overlooked figures from the arts, literature and academia who found refuge from the National Socialists in the respective partner country. Each event is individually conceived, whether as a lecture, reading, concert, film screening or conversation with descendants.
The events take place at various locations in Germany and abroad: at the embassies themselves, in cultural institutions, academic institutions or at the Exilmuseum.

The programme was developed by Ruth Ur and Thomas Sparr. It is funded by the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung.

Speechless in Sweden?

Panel discussion

Speechless in Sweden?

With Aris Fioretos and Deniz Utlu

"The ground is burning beneath our feet."

Book presentation

"The ground is burning beneath our feet."

A Jewish family between Berlin, Santiago de Chile and the Litzmannstadt Ghetto

Einstein's Time Machine: The Life and Work of Composer Julia Kerr

Reading and Music

Einstein's Time Machine: The Life and Work of Composer Julia Kerr

Event at the Einstein House in Caputh

Education and Mediation

The Exilmuseum sees educational outreach as one of its central tasks and as an essential part of its social responsibility. Drawing on the experiences of people who fled Germany between 1933 and 1945 to escape National Socialism, the museum opens up spaces for historical learning, critical engagement and shared reflection on the present.

Our education and outreach programmes are aimed at people of all age groups, with different experiences and perspectives. Workshops, guided tours and participatory formats create opportunities to acquire knowledge, develop questions and enter into dialogue with one another. The education programme is continuously expanded and developed further.

Ein Foto von drei Koffern jeweils umrandt von einem Ring. Auf jedem Koffer steht je ein Gegenstand: Ein Spielzeugauto, ein Katzen-Stofftier und ein Hunde-Stofftier

Roots in the wind

Educational programme for children and school classes

At the ruins

In 2025, the Exilmuseum Foundation launched a new exhibition series featuring artistic installations at the ruins of the portal to the historic Anhalter Bahnhof. The installations engage with the site and its history, while also bringing the concept of exile from history into the present. The projects aim to strengthen Anhalter Bahnhof as a vibrant place of remembrance and culture.

The series is kindly supported by Deutsche Bahn AG and the Heinz
and Heide Dürr Foundation.

I Don't Have Another Land

Art installation

I Don't Have Another Land

by Nathan Coley

Capital Talk

Berlin, Germany’s cultural capital? Between aspiration and reality

What is Berlin’s self-image today when it comes to culture? And how much of it does it live up to? The Tagesspiegel Capital City Talk explores the question of what role culture plays and should play today in an increasingly polarised society – beyond Berlin as well. Tagesspiegel editor-in-chief Christian Tretbar and deputy editor-in-chief Anke Myrrhe discussed this with prominent guests on 8 December 2025 at the Deutsches Theater Berlin.

Ruth Ur

A curator and art historian, she has led the Exilmuseum Berlin Foundation since 2025 and is one of the leading voices in the international fields of remembrance and culture.

Till Brönner

Germany’s best-known jazz trumpeter is also a singer, composer, producer and photographer. He has shaped the European jazz scene for years and has repeatedly undertaken projects in Berlin.

Diandra Donecker

The managing partner of the Grisebach auction house is one of the leading figures in the German art market.

Peter Raue

The renowned Berlin lawyer specialising in art and media law has been a central figure in the local cultural scene for decades and was long-serving chair of the Friends of the National Gallery.