Present and History

Sebastian Haffner, born in Berlin in 1907, was a war journalist, publicist, historian and writer. During the Second World War he began writing for the “Observer” in British exile. In the 1950s he returned to Germany. His writings on Adolf Hitler and National Socialism in particular have received lasting attention. We do not want to […]

He experienced hell. But in the midst of it all, he also began to ask himself why some people do not give up even under the most terrible circumstances, while others collapse. Viktor Frankl wrote: “Who among those who experienced the concentration camp would not be able to tell of those human figures who walked […]

… and the “Lyrical Medicine Cabinet” In 1936, Erich Kästner published a volume of poetry that he humorously called “The Lyrical Medicine Cabinet”. In it, he writes: “It feels good when someone else expresses your own sorrow. It is also pleasant to learn that others are no different and no better off than we are.” Kästner […]