Panel Discussion I Wednesday, February 5, 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Design for Everyone: An Intro to Bauhaus

Last year was the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus and we’re taking it back to the basics for those who might have wondered “What is Bauhaus?” or for those who need a refresher. Join us for the first installment of Design For Everyone, a lecture series that seeks to open up conversations about design to broader, more diverse audiences.

Worldwide Screening & Post-Film Discussion | Monday, January 27, & Tuesday, January 28

Worldwide Screening & Post-Film Discussion: Shoah (1985), dir. Claude Lanzmann

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day – January 27, also the 75-year anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp – the Goethe-Institut Washington and the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, DC present a screening of Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah (1985, documentary film). This is a rare opportunity to see the 9.5-hour film in its entirety on a big screen. On January 28, at 6:30pm, the Goethe-Institut Washington will host a post-film discussion. Discussants will be announced shortly.

The Goethe-Instituts of North America in turn call friends and partners to participate in this worldwide screening event. These screenings can be in small private circles or in large venues, through television channels, or anywhere else possible. Shoah is subtitled in English, Spanish, French, and German, and can be purchased in many places where DVDs and Blu-Rays are sold. Please visit the event page linked below for more information.

Film | Thursday, January 30, 6:30 pm

The Murderers Are Among Us (Die Mörder sind unter uns) (1946), dir. Wolfgang Staudte

1945: Berlin - a city in ruins. Susanne Wallner returns home after surviving imprisonment in a concentration camp. She walks back into her old apartment, only to find that it's now occupied by Dr. Mertens, a military surgeon. Susanne and Dr. Mertens must share the apartment. Meanwhile, Mertens encounters Brückner, his former captain, whom he believed to be dead. Brückner, who had ordered the shooting of more than 100 civilians during the war, is now a successful businessman. Mertens is determined to take justice into his own hands - Susanne, however, believes a war criminal of such great magnitude must be brought to justice in a court of law, not as a private matter of vigilantism.

Goethe Book Club | Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 6:30pm

Goethe Book Club: Alex Beer's The Second Rider (2017/2018)

On February 4, 2020, the Goethe Book Club will kick off its spring semester with Alex Beer's compelling historical crime novel The Second Rider. 

Vienna, right after the First World War: A man is strangled under mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Detective August Emmerich and his young partner, Ferdinand Winter, to undercover why this man was so cruelly murdered. Altered by the war, Vienna is a mixture of rich and poor, blended families, and those trying to rebuild or move away from the city forever. Explore the Viennese underground and undercover a killer in this suspenseful thriller.

January 2020 German Courses

Registration is now in progress for 5-week intensive courses, 10-week standard courses, as well as 8 and 16-week online courses starting in January 2020. All face-to-face courses take place at our new location at 1377 R Street NW, Suite 300!

Culture in the Quarter

“Making van Gogh” and “Inside Rembrandt”

Two exhibitions on classical masters are running simultaneously in Frankfurt and Cologne: “Inside Rembrandt” and “Making Van Gogh” provide exciting insights into the history of art and how great artists emerge. In addition to some of the two painters’ best-known works, the exhibitions also feature many unknown pieces from each artist’s circle.