Where is Lemberg?

In its long, eventful history, the Ukrainian city of Lemberg/Lviv has always been a place of encounter for numerous ethnic peoples, cultures and religions. At one time, the city was located in Poland and then became a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Later, it was occupied by the Russians and the Germans, and following World War II, fell under the control of the Soviet Union. For European Jews, Lemberg has always played an important role as the "Jerusalem of the East". Some of its famous residents include the writers Joseph Roth, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and Stanislaw Lem. Simon Wiesenthal and Martin Buber studied in Lemberg. However, its history as an intellectual-cultural centre ended in World War II when practically all of Lemberg's Jewish inhabitants were murdered. In recent years, Lviv has played a historically crucial role as one of the strongholds of the Ukrainian independence movement and the Orange Revolution. The exhibition and publication examined the issues facing the city's future and its handling of its cultural heritage as a place of European and especially Jewish cultural-historical significance. Developed together with artists in Ukraine, the exhibition opened at the Centrum Judaicum in Berlin, followed by a showing in Lemberg.

Project directors: Hermann Simon, Chana Schütz
Curators: Irene Stratenwerth, Ronald Hinrichs
Participants / artists: Jurj Andruchowytsch, Yaroslaw Hrytsak, Wolodja Kaufmann, Iryna Kryororutcka, Olena Onufri, Sofia Onufri, Jurko Prochasko, Andrij Saljuk (all UA), and students from various colleges and universities in Lemberg
Exhibition design: Marcus Spiegel

Venues and schedule:
Centrum Judaicum, Berlin, 2 Sep. - 6 January 2008
Lemberg / Lviv (UA), vernisage 26 October 2008