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October 29, 2025
Newsletter November 2025
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Dear Friends,
We invite you to enjoy an engaging lineup of November events for both kids and adults. From a hands-on art crafting workshop for the entire family to an exclusively curated film series honoring the visionary GDR director Konrad Wolf, and the latest issue of GEGENÜBER exploring the contemporary resonance of Hannah Arendt’s thought, there is much to discover this month.
Join us as we celebrate art, film, and shared stories.
Sincerely,
Klaus Krischok
Director Goethe-Institut Washington
Regional Director North America
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October 29, 6.30pm | Reading and Music Performance | Goethe-Institut Washington
The Mountain and the Mic: Thomas Mann
An evening celebrating Thomas Mann’s enduring influence as both a Nobel Prize-winning novelist and a steadfast advocate for democracy. The program features a reading from Morten Høi Jensen’s The Master of Contradictions: Thomas Mann and the Making of The Magic Mountain, tracing Mann’s transformation from apolitical observer to outspoken humanist. A performance of “An Appeal to Reason” by Grammy-nominated artist Kokayi follows—an original soundpiece that reimagines Mann’s anti-fascist message for today’s world. The evening concludes with a conversation between the artists on Mann’s timeless relevance and the power of art in shaping democracy.
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© Bugle Films
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October 30, 6.30-8.30pm | Preview Film Screening | Goethe-Institut Washington
GRAINS OF SAND by Sarah Gross
Filmed over eight years, Grains of Sand is an intimate portrait of two lifelong friends and artists—Margot and Barbara—as they enter their ninth decade. Directed by Sarah Gross, the film follows the filmmaker’s mother and mother-in-law through conversations, memories, and moments of shared creation.
Between studios in Hamburg and San Francisco and a yearly retreat in a stone farmhouse in the German countryside, the two women reflect on art, aging, and the ever-evolving roles of artists, mothers, and partners. Rather than looking back, they continue to shape their lives. Join us for this special preview screening, followed by a Q&A and audience discussion with the filmmaker.
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© Victor Ekpuk
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November 2, 3.30-4.30pm | Time to Make Art | Goethe-Institut Washington
Family Event: Celebrating The Dancer
Just around the corner from the Goethe-Institut, Victor Ekpuk—an internationally renowned Nigerian-American artist—was commissioned by LCCA, in collaboration with Whitman-Walker, Fivesquares, and Logan Circle community members, to create a public art installation. To this event, children will be invited to build their own sculptures using cardboard, inspired by the prompt: “Create a piece of art you’d like to see outside your window.” We will provide refreshments as well as cardboard and various materials for assembling their sculptures, including: markers, stickers, tape, and a Crafts Kit.
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photo: © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum /Provenance: Leo Spitzer, CC BY-SA
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Photo (detail): © Frederic Batier / Pandora Film
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November 20, 6.30pm | Film Screening | Goethe-Institut Washington
In Liebe, Eure Hilde (From Hilde, with Love)
Directed by Andreas Dresen and written by Laila Stieler, In Liebe, Eure Hilde (From Hilde, With Love) tells the true story of Hilde and Hans Coppi, a young couple who resisted Nazi tyranny with love and conviction. Both were executed in Berlin-Plötzensee in 1943. The film is a moving tribute to moral courage and humanity in the darkest of times
Germany | 2024 | 124 min | Drama | German with English subtitles | Winner of multiple prizes at the 33rd Filmkunstfest Schwerin and the 2025 German Film Award for Best Picture and Best Leading Actress.
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Illustration: © Eléonore Roedel
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New GEGENÜBER Issue
Hannah Arendt
Fifty years after her death, the work of German-American philosopher and author Hannah Arendt remains strikingly relevant. In the face of today’s complex challenges, her work compels to revisit fundamental questions of freedom, responsibility, and judgment. In this dossier we approach Arendt’s life and work in a nuanced and insightful way and invite you to reflect on them in a contemporary context: What does it mean today to think and act in the spirit of Hannah Arendt? GEGENÜBER articles are available in German, English, Spanish, and French–free of charge, no subscription needed.
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© DEFA Stiftung/Rudolf Meister
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Streaming through November 30
Konrad Wolf: Ways to Enlightenment
To celebrate the 100th birthday of East German filmmaker Konrad Wolf on October 20, this streaming series offers a selection of his pioneering, politically daring, and thought-provoking work. A committed anti-fascist of Jewish descent, Wolf vividly and pointedly depicted a generation questioning its role in Third Reich’s horrors, inviting his viewers—then and today—to consider their own relationship to the historical movements of their time. Stream seven films by Konrad Wolf for free until November 30th.
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© Goethe-Institut / portrait Susan Bernofsky: Caroline White / portrait Veronika Fuechtner: Katie Lenhart
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Ongoing | Online | German Courses
Personalized German Courses That Fit Your Life
Looking for a flexible and personalized way to learn German? Our individual courses are designed to fit your schedule, goals, and learning style - with one-on-one support from our highly qualified instructors.
Choose your learning format (book-based or interactive learning platform), set your own pace, and decide when to start and how long to learn: build your German course around your schedule!
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Ongoing | Online | Clubs
German Learner Community: Join One of Our Fun Clubs
Join our Book or Conversation Clubs to get a deeper connection with German. Especially the Conversation Clubs are for learners who want to improve their conversation skills. These online groups will learn in a motivating and creative learning environment and are tailored to different language levels. Students who are registered for a German Online Live group course starting this October will receive a 50% discount on all Language Clubs!
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