Berlin enjoys a global reputation as a modern, tolerant and culturally diverse metropolis. Presented under the title “Diversity Destroyed”, the 2013 Berlin Theme Year seeks to communicate the importance and sensitive nature of these democratic values and achievements. The Theme Year will highlight the social and cultural diversity that was destroyed in Berlin under the Nazi regime in the years following 1933. The eightieth anniversary of the Nazi regime’s accession to power on 30 January 1933 and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the November Pogroms are the cornerstones in a year of commemoration, remembrance and active engagement with the past.
“Diversity, tolerance and openness are values that we must consciously seek to cultivate as a society and within our personal lives – this is one of the central messages of this Theme Year. The diversity of cosmopolitan Berlin in the 1920s and 1930s was destroyed by the National Socialist regime within a short period of time and with grave consequences. That we can claim today to have regained such a degree of diversity is not a foregone conclusion. It is an achievement on the part of our city and its citizens that we must actively seek to preserve. This is the message of the Theme Year to the people of Berlin, in particular to the younger generations and the many guests from near and far who flock to our city each year to share in this diversity”, outlined the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, at a press conference held on 14 January 2013.
Over 120 project partners, the portal exhibition at the German Historical Museum (DHM) and numerous other events
