"Frag nach, Just ask!" – The exhibition
Graphic: Framegrabber Medien GmbH
Digital interactive interviews with Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier
An exhibition of the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 at the German National Library, from 8 September 2023.
The exhibition
Eyewitness reports are irreplaceable sources that enable us to experience history at first hand.
Soon, there will be nobody left who can tell us about their experiences of Nazi persecution and exile after 1933. How can we preserve their memories for the future?
The German Exile Archive 1933–1945 has been cooperating closely with eyewitnesses Kurt S. Maier and Inge Auerbacher to create digital interactive interviews that explore their experiences of anti-Semitic persecution and exile since 1933.
The interviews will feature in the exhibition "Frag nach! Just Ask!" until 2026. Kurt S. Maier and Inge Auerbacher experienced ostracism and persecution by the Nazis from their childhood. The two contemporary witnesses and their families took on the challenge of building new lives in the USA, their country of exile.
The exhibition uses the life stories of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier as a basis for exploring National Socialism and experiences of exile. It invites visitors to draw parallels with the reality of their present-day lives and with contemporary experiences of ostracism and anti-Semitism, migration and new beginnings. The digital interactive interviews are the core of the exhibition and make it possible for visitors to ask questions.
The life-size interactive testimonies are projected into the room, thus creating a new form of interaction and spatial encounter.
The exhibition also offers other exciting ways to access the topic, e.g. animated graphic novels which provide an introduction to the eyewitnesses' life stories. Personal photographs and documents, interactive elements and audiovisual media offer a variety of points of reference which encourage adults and young people alike to reflect and participate.
The digital interactive interviews were created in collaboration with the USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education and are part of the project "Learning from the Past for the Present - Interactive Interviews with Witnesses of Historical Exile" and are among the first of their kind to be produced in German.
Would you like to find out more?
Our website fragnach.org offers more information about the exhibition and the accompanying tours and educational programme for adults and young people.
Website visitors can also question the interactive eyewitness testimonies of Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier directly.
Video of the exhibition opening
The exhibition "Frag nach! Just ask!" was opened on 7 September 2023. The evening's guests of honour, eyewitnesses Dr. h.c. Inge Auerbacher and Dr. Kurt S. Maier, travelled all the way from the USA especially for the event. Actor Iris Berben read excerpts from texts by the two eyewitnesses, while musical accompaniment was provided by jazz pianist Omer Klein. Dr. Sylvia Asmus (Head of the Exile Archive), Karen Jungblut (USC Shoah Foundation), Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier offered insights into the background to and creation of the interactive interviews during a discussion moderated by Doris Renck (hr2 kultur).
We look back on the evening in a film showing the highlights (in German):
The exhibition is expected to remain open for viewing until August 2026.
Sponsored by:
Information for your visit
Opening hours and admission
Monday to Friday 9–21:30
Saturday 10–17:30
Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Admission free
Guided tours
General and theme-based guided tours of our exhibitions are held on a regular basis.
To the events calendar
Accessibility
Barrier-free access to the exhibition is available.
Address and getting here
German National Library
Adickesallee 1
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Getting here
We advise you to use public transport.
1 / By public transport
By rail
From the main railway station, take the U4 in the direction of Bornheim or Enkheim or the S-Bahn in the direction city centre and get off at “Konstablerwache”. Change to the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 15 minutes.
By plane
From the airport (regional station), take S-Bahn S8 in the direction of Hanau or the S9 in the direction of Offenbach and get off at “Konstablerwache”. Change to the U5 in the direction of Preungesheim and get off at the stop “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 30 minutes.
By bus
The “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek” bus stop is served by the number M32 bus.
2 / By car
The address for navigation devices is Eckenheimer Landstraße 165. The building is accessed from the underground car park. The maximum entrance height is 2.0 m.
Approaching from the west
Take the A66 to the end of the autobahn in Miquelallee and follow the signs for Fulda/Hanau; at the third intersection, turn right into Eckenheimer Landstraße in the direction of the city centre; follow the signs and turn right into the underground car park.
Approaching from the north
Take the A661 to the Eckenheim exit, get into the lane for the city centre/Eckenheim, continue straight on to the third major set of traffic lights and cross these. The entrance to the underground car park is located at the German National Library building around 100 metres further on the right.
Parking
Our underground car park has 100 parking spaces for visitors on the first basement floor.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 6:00 to 22:00, Saturday 8:00 to 18:00.
Fees: 2.00 Euro/hour, cash only.
The permanent rental of parking spaces is not possible.
For on-street parking spaces in the Holzhausenviertel district, the City of Frankfurt of Main charges 50 cents per quarter hour or part thereof from Monday to Friday between 7:00 and 19:00.
3 / Accessibility
The German National Library in Frankfurt am Main has designated disabled parking spaces in its underground car park and next to the building in Schlosserstraße. The Library's public rooms can be accessed by lift from the underground car park. Barrier-free access to the main entrance is also available from Schlosserstraße.
Last changes:
04.04.2024
