Ich möchte zurückgehen in der Zeit

Reading and Discussion with Judith Hermann, Moderated by Helmut Böttiger

“I Want to Go Back in Time”—that is the title of Judith Hermann’s new book, in which she traces the footsteps of her grandfather, who was stationed with the SS in Radom, Poland, during World War II. She connects her writing to a long-denied history, travels from Poland to visit her sister in Naples, and explores the memories and forgetting of subsequent generations. In the nuances and undertones, the
repressed—the gaps in our society—emerge. It reveals how fragile our lives are and how fragile our attempts to find our place in them are, but also what beauty can be hidden within them. Judith Hermann was born in Berlin in 1970. Her debut, *Sommerhaus, später* (1998), brought her international recognition. This was followed by collections of short stories and novels, some of which have been adapted for film.