"Nothing more perfect has ever been
and never will be than love."

Paul Mühsam (1876-1960)

as part of the event series "VIA REGIA - Jewish - on the road"

The starting point of the evening is an exhibition at the SLUB Dresden entitled "Fateful Pages - Books of Persecuted People". The exhibition visualises books owned by people who were persecuted, expelled or murdered during the Nazi era. These books are more than just historical objects - they carry personal stories and preserve traces of loss, exile and memory.

photo: Anne Hasselbach

At the centre of the evening is the lawyer and writer Paul Mühsam (1876-1960), who lived in Görlitz for a long time and had to emigrate to Palestine in 1933. His life's journey took him from Silesia to Jerusalem. This musical reading combines biographical stages, literary texts and historical documents.

The actress Sibylle Kuhne reads from texts and documents by and about Paul Mühsam and paints a picture of a Jewish intellectual whose thinking was characterised by humanity, religious education and social responsibility.

The musical part of the evening will be organised by cantor Yoed Sorek. With singing and musical motifs from the Jewish tradition, he will complement the reading and open up a second level of remembrance - that of music.

The date also coincides with the beginning of the Jewish weekly festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Sinai - of scripture, law and tradition. The fact that this evening takes place at the beginning of this festival in a former synagogue combines the literary and historical perspective of the event with a central moment of Jewish tradition.

YOED SOREK Cantor and pianist
SIBYLLE KUHNE Actress

Artists

Sibylle Kuhne is a distinguished theatre and film actress with many years of stage experience. She regularly works in literary-musical formats and knows how to create historical texts with great precision, empathy and inner tension. Her voice opens up access to biographies that oscillate between home, loss and new beginnings and makes historical sources tangible.

Yoed Sorek is an Israeli-German cantor, singer and pianist. His artistic work moves between Jewish liturgy, classical music and contemporary interpretations. With great musical sensitivity, he combines traditional Jewish chants with concert performances, thus creating a bridge between sacred music, concert hall and biographical storytelling.

Literature Centre Old Synagogue
Langenstraße 24
02826 Görlitz