Albrecht Weinberg – It’s always on my mind

Albrecht Weinberg survived the Holocaust. Sixty years after going into exile in America, he returns to his old home in East Frisia. Not because he wants to see Germany again, but because he is almost blind and needs help. He arrives in Leer at what he believes to be the end of his life — and there he finds something no one would have expected: a new beginning alongside Gerda Dänekas, once his carer, now his friend and flatmate. Together, they are Germany’s oldest roommates. And Albrecht begins to tell his story: of his life, of ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’, of what remains when everything has been lost. The audience witnesses schoolchildren kneeling beside the old man in his wheelchair and bursting into tears, because the power of his story is almost too much to bear. Albrecht carries the horror in his mind and, in his heart, a childlike trust in the people he meets. Engaging, affectionate, always curious and open-minded. Not even a former Wehrmacht soldier he meets can change that. Albrecht cries, he laughs, he goes on the merry-go-round with the mayor of Leer and recalls every detail of a past that must not be forgotten. Right up to the end, his greatest fear remains that of being forgotten. Albrecht Weinberg died on 12 May at the age of 101. He leaves behind hundreds of friends and companions, as well as his best friend Gerda, who is now travelling through Germany – no longer with Albrecht, but with his film – to combat the threat of forgetting.

This will be followed by a moderated discussion with Gerda Dänekas, Güner Balci and Jesco Denzel. Moderator: TBC

Admission: 8 euros. Advance tickets and bookings are only available directly from the Kino am Raschplatz.