Diet Kloos & Paul Celan - My Voice Survived

(Groesbeek, 23.11.2011) On the occasion of Paul Celan's day of birth, ninety-one years ago today, on 23.11.1920, the National Liberation Museum 1944-1945 in Groesbeek/Netherlands will be showing the life of Diet Kloos-Barendregt, a young female member of the resistance movement, and the Jewish poet Paul Celan. The exhibition titled "Diet Kloos & Paul Celan - My Voice Survived" will take place from November 24th 2011 - April 23rd 2012.

I participated in the opening ceremony and - despite my poor knowledge of Dutch - I was deeply impressed by the fascination, which the exhibition organizers were able to evoke for Paul Celan and his oeuvre. Prof. Dr. Paul Sars, Professor of German Language and Culture, Radboud University Nijmegen, Diet Kloos and NOS-news reporter Pauline Broekema - see photo above - inspired the attentive and numerous audience. Paul Celan gave to Diet Kloos three poems, one of them the world famous "Todesfuge", considered to be THE Holocaust poem. In addition, Prof. Dr. Paul Sars released the book "Paul Celan - Du mußt versuchen, auch den Schweigenden zu hören - Briefe an Diet Kloos-Barendregt", edited by the prestigious German publishing house Suhrkamp Verlag.