We are thrilled and honoured tobewelcoming Anne Weber hereatHatchards this evening. Renowned for her writing in France and Germany – she won the 2020 German Book Prize for Epic Annette: A Heroine's Tale – Anne will be discussing her extraordinary new book
Sanderling
On a personal journey into the past to uncover the life of her great-grandfather Florens Christian Rang (1864–1924), whom she nicknames Sanderling after the darting shorebird,Anne Weber discovers him to be aProtestant pastor in Prussian-ruled Polandservinga church whose mission to "Germanise" the local population would later be echoed in the murderous ambitions of the Third Reich.
After leaving the church, Sanderling moved in the circles of Walter Benjamin, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Martin Buber,joininga group of writers, artists, and philosophers who dreamed of a utopian society - even as one of his sons, Weber’s grandfather, would go on to become a Nazi.
As we will discover this evening, tracing Sanderling’s footsteps to Poland conjures up the contradictions and reckonings of an enormously complex legacy.
In conversation with Stuart Jeffries, author of “Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School”, Anne will discuss that legacy, asking how does one live with a history one cannot escape.
It promises to be a deeply engaging and fascinating evening – we hope you will be able to join us.
