Annemarie Cordes
*29 July 1951 ꝉ 22 May 2023
"Was it courage? Or maybe it was something much simpler: sometimes you just have to start without knowing where the journey will lead". With these sentences ends Annemarie Cordes' account of the founding evening of the Kreisau-Initiative association on 10 November 1989, when, in the spirit of change and vibrant excitement following the fall of the Berlin Wall, people from West Berlin and East Berlin who were interested in the Kreisau Circle met for the first time. Annemarie Cordes enthusiastically followed the spirit of the period. She trusted in the beginnings and, together with a group of like-minded people, decided to turn the idea of establishing a European educational and meeting place in Krzyżowa into a reality. The result was almost 35 years of social activity, a lifetime project.
Read more: (†) Annemarie Cordes
Press release 21.04.2023
Press release from the Lüneburg University Society and the Lüneburg Museum Foundation.
The award ceremony commemorates the famous rescue of a Polish pianist by a German officer in 1944 ( known from the film 'The Pianist').
Lüneburg. On 17 November 1944, a German officer discovers a pianist of Jewish origin in his hiding place in Warsaw. Instead of shooting him, he takes care of him and saves his life. Today, a prize for memory culture projects is named after these two men: the Hosenfeld-Szpilman Prize. This year it went to the Krzyżowa-Music Chamber Music Festival.
Festival director Ph.D. Matthias von Hülsen came to the award ceremony in the Libeskind Building at Leuphana University Lüneburg together with four long-time participants of the Krzyżowa-Music Festival: Miriam Helms Ålien (violin), Pablo Barragán (clarinet), Alexey Stadler (cello) and Amadeus Wiesensee (piano).
"You give us hope," said political scientist Prof. Dr. Gesine Schwan in her laudation towards the musicians. "They unwaveringly believe in the peaceful and joy-giving power of music. Music is the royal road to understanding." Reconciliation in Europe after the German war of aggression would not have been possible without the generosity of neighbouring countries. A "courageous confrontation with guilt" is needed. The Chamber Music Festival aims to overcome the legacy of suffering and prejudice.
Schwan called the meeting between German officer Wilm Hosenfeld and Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman "a deeply moving and comforting human encounter". After the soldier discovered the Jew in his hiding place in Warsaw, he provided him with clothing, blankets and food for weeks. When Hosenfeld himself became a prisoner of war, Szpilman tried to free his saviour. He was unsuccessful. Hosenfeld died in a camp in Stalingrad in 1952.
Read more: Music against oblivion: Krzyżowa-Music receives the Hosenfeld-Szpilman Prize 2023
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Are borders real or do they only exist in our minds? Is it possible to imagine a world without borders?
Have you ever had difficulties crossing a border?`
These are just a few of the many questions about migration, borders and identity that the exhibition
"JAZDA!" asks. As part of the project "Remembering Together - Shaping the Future", it was
developed last year by 25 voluntary service workers. The project was organised by the Museum
Friedland, the Fondation du Camp des Milles and the Kreisau Foundation for European
Understanding and took place in 2022.
Read more: JAZDA! [Exhibition]
August 20 marks the beginning of the 9th edition of the Krzyzowa-Music Festival. Music for Europe. Once again the sounds of classical music will resound in the concert halls of Lower Silesia. They will be performed by world-renowned musicians and talented juniors. This year's summer concerts are scheduled in Krzyzowa, Świdnica, Szczawno-Zdrój, Jawor and Wroclaw.
We invite you now to the concerts and symposia organized as part of the ninth edition of the festival from August 20 to September 3, 2023.
Read more: 9th Krzyzowa-Music Festival - 20.08-03.09.2023
