Gustaf Gründgens – Kontinuitäten einer Karriere

In the organizer's words:

A discussion with Frederike Krenz (Mahn- und Gedenkstätte) and Sascha Förster (Theatermuseum) - Moderation: Bernd Plöger

Gustaf Gründgens was an example of the position of the divinely pardoned in the theater before and after 1945. Gründgens is an interesting example because he was dismissed from the theater in Berlin after the Nazis came to power (presumably because of his homosexuality) and was then reinstated by Göring, who protected him with various measures until 1944. The discussion will also deal with the relationship between Gründgens and Göring and the connections with cultural/theater politics, as well as Gründgens' arguments after 1945.
This discussion will be based on a lecture by Frederike Krenz on the cultural policy of the National Socialists and continuities after 1945 using the example of the Gottbegnadeten, which she originally conceived for a series at the Künstlerverein Malkasten.

Frederike Krenz was born in 1989, studied history and politics and then completed a doctorate in history. She wrote her master's thesis on Gustaf Gründgens and her dissertation on the theater policy of the National Socialists using the example of the Kärntner Grenzlandtheater. Krenz has been part of the memorial since 2021, first as a freelancer and then as a permanent employee since 2022.

Sascha Förster has been head of the TMD Theatermuseum Hofgartenhaus Düsseldorf and the Dumont-Lindemann Archive since 2021. He wrote his doctoral thesis on social visions of space in modernist theater using the example of stage spaces in the Weimar Republic and the brutalist architecture of the National Theatre in London. He completed his doctorate at the University of Cologne, where he was a research assistant at the Theater Studies Collection and the Institute for Media Culture and Theater.

The exhibition is open on this day from 15:30 - 21:00.