The Luise Büchner Library will shed light on the eventful history of a manuscript on October 14th – admission is free
The Luise Büchner Library at the Darmstadt Literature House invites you to a library discussion on Hannah Arendt and her biography by the writer Rahel Varnhagen on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 6 p.m. The discussion will focus on what happened to the nearly completed manuscript when Arendt had to flee the Nazis in 1933. The event is being held to commemorate her 120th birthday.
Hannah Arendt and the story of her manuscript
Even during her studies in Heidelberg, the philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) engaged with the literature of German Romanticism. After completing her dissertation in 1928, she began evaluating letters and diaries from the Varnhagen Archive at the Berlin State Library.
Their goal was an “experimental” biography of Rahel Varnhagen (1771–1833), an important figure in Berlin salon culture.
When Arendt was arrested by the Gestapo in the spring of 1933, the manuscript was almost finished. After her release, she fled first to Paris and later to the USA.
The library discussion will focus on what became of the manuscript and the path it took to its publication. The event will also commemorate Arendt's life and work.
www.luise-buechner-gesellschaft.de
(DARMSTADT – RED/PM/Agnes Schmidt)
(Featured image: Hannah Arendt, 1933. Photo: unknown / Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
