Nele Hertling - Into the open

This is a book I recommend giving (or offering) to those who love theatre, dance, everything that belongs to life – even to survival – who are interested in the history of Europe, in Berlin, in culture's capacity for transformation, and in friendship.

A thick, supple book, with a robust and dynamic layout, open to the unexpected juxtapositions of personal photographs and period documents, conveying an account of Nele Hertling's life and career.

Its editor, Johannes Odenthal, conceived it in five movements:

Introduction,

• One's own biography as a driving force,

• The Akademie der Künste as a space of transformation,

• European producers' networks and the Hebbel-Theater as a model,

• "A Soul for Europe" – Europe from below as a cultural project.

The book's presentation evening, on 11 November at the Akademie der Künste in the Tiergarten ("her home"), was made of the same stuff. It was intimate and deeply moving to see so many figures (200 people?) from the Berlin scene gathered for Nele (very much alive): small artistic moments, conversations, memories, and plenty of emotion (clearly perceptible even though I don't speak a word of German). And Nele on stage, a little overwhelmed by this evening held in her honour, yet contributing most generously to this small return to a great past.

A book of transmission, then, and one that gives a great deal of courage.

PLUS

• Online purchase on the publisher Spector Books' website

• A tribute to Nele Hertling with artists' dedications, essays, and extensive interviews about her childhood under National Socialism, her socialisation between East and West Germany and at the Akademie der Künste. The volume documents a unique story of successful international programming, the refounding of the Hebbel-Theater, and the innovative festivals she established while building cultural-political networks: an untiring commitment to the arts over sixty years.