Siegfried Lenz (*17.3.1926, †7.10.2014)

Web-Seminar Tuesday, 2 June 2026 Time: 7 - 9 pm Speaker: Helmut Seifen Siegfried Lenz could have celebrated his 100th birthday on 17 March 2026. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to a writer who was an important intellectual voice in the Federal Republic of Germany from the very beginning and who was already honoured with numerous awards during his lifetime. Unlike his fellow writers Böll and Grass, for example, his stories, novels and dramas are not about political systems, but always about the individual person. In concrete situations, his characters often find themselves in an almost unbearable tension between their own moral principles and beliefs and public morality, public „duty“. Lenz understands like no other how to visualise this tense inner situation in narrative images and thus reveal to his readers the underlying fundamental human and moral questions.

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A celebrated writer and perceptive chronicler of the ideological reorganisation of the FRG

web seminar

Tuesday, 2 June 2026

Time: 7–9 p.m.

Speaker: Helmut Seifen

Siegfried Lenz could have celebrated his 100th birthday on 17 March 2026. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to a writer who has been an important intellectual voice in the Federal Republic of Germany from the very beginning and who has already been honoured with numerous awards during his lifetime.

Unlike his fellow writers Böll and Grass, for example, his stories, novels and dramas are not about political systems, but always about the individual. In concrete situations, his characters often find themselves in an almost unbearable tension between their own moral principles and beliefs and public morality, public „duty“. Lenz understands like no other how to visualise this tense inner situation in narrative images and thus reveal to his readers the underlying fundamental human and moral questions.

Helmut Seifen, born in 1953, studied German language and literature, history, philosophy and education in Münster. He then worked as a secondary school teacher for German and history. From 2004, he was the head teacher of two grammar schools. Since 2015, he has been the political spokesperson for schools and further education policy. He was a member of the NRW state parliament from June 2017 to May 2022.

The conference fee is €15.

Registration via https://erasmus-stiftung.de/angebote/

After submitting the form, you will receive a confirmation of receipt and - if places are still available - a reconfirmed confirmation from us. If you are accepted, you will receive another email two days beforehand with a link to dial into a Zoom meeting.

To participate, you will need a computer with a camera, microphone and speakers.
You can find further DES seminar offers at https://erasmus-stiftung.de/angebote/