Jul 17, 2025
“Together we are unbearable”
An exhibition about courage, resistance and lasting social change
July 21 to August 15, 2025 | Municipal Libraries Dresden
Municipal Libraries Dresden and TUD Dresden University of Technology are presenting an unconventional exhibition that throws the spotlight on an often overlooked and thus all the more important chapter in the history of the GDR: the independent feminist movement in the late GDR.
These women were more than just stakeholders – they were trailblazers whose fearless resistance to a repressive system not only played a key role in shaping the Peaceful Revolution, but continues to inspire social debates about equality, freedom and civic courage to this day. The legacy of this movement is still visible today: When it comes to paving the way, advising and supporting people and arguing for equality and justice in societal debates, its ideas continue to have a lasting impact.
In a time when it was dangerous to have dissenting opinions, they founded independent networks, wrote critical leaflets, and organized courageous demonstrations. Under constant surveillance by the Stasi, they risked their freedom and personal safety - and yet brought about a paradigm shift in society's perception of women's rights and civic engagement.
“The courageous protagonists of the independent feminist movement of the GDR must be honored in our present day as a vital contribution to the public debate on democracy, freedom and gender equality,” emphasizes Annekatrin Klepsch, Dresden's Mayor for Culture and Science.
“Libraries are more than just repositories of information, because they preserve knowledge and memories through dialogue. This exhibition offers many opportunities for discussion and sends out a clear signal that history, which is in danger of being forgotten, should be made visible and placed in the context of our present," says Lena Leubner, Head of the Central Library of the Municipal Libraries Dresden.
The exhibition can be visited from July 21. The official opening on July 24 at 6 pm in the Kulturpalast will be accompanied by an opening podcast as part of the TUD Lectures Plus and You Ask We Explain, hosted by Lisa-Marie Eberharter. On August 14, there will be a concluding event featuring contemporary witnesses and activists. TUD is also organizing a multifaceted accompanying program with talks, films and student contributions.
“Remembering the independent feminist movement of the GDR is not a nostalgic retrospective, but an urgent duty combining political history with contemporary debates on equality, democracy and societal change,” says Prof. Roswitha Böhm, Vice-Rector University Culture at TUD.
More information on Prof. Roswitha Böhm
The speakers and participants of the podcast are:
Annekatrin Klepsch, Deputy Mayor of the City of Dresden
Councilor for Culture, Science and Tourism
More on Annekatrin Klepsch
Judith Geffert, author and co-curator of the traveling exhibition “Together we are unbearable”
More on Judith Geffert
Anne-Katrin Olbrich, qualified social pedagogue; supervisor; marriage, family and life counseling
Grit Lemke, author, filmmaker and writer
More on Grit Lemke
Friederike Berger, art historian, Frauenstadtarchiv Dresden
The exhibition by the Agentur für Bildung - Geschichte, Politik und Medien e. V. (Agency for Education - History, Politics and Media) is a nationwide traveling exhibition and a celebration of 35 years of German reunification – this time with an indispensable focus on a perspective that continues to have an impact today.
Exhibition opening & live podcast in Kulturpalast Dresden
July 24, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Dresden’s Central Library, Schloßstr. 2, 01067 Dresden
Rebels on the move – a bus tour through the history of the Dresden feminist movement
July 28 and August 2, 2025
Time: 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Dresden’s Central Library
Address: Schloßstr. 2, 01067 Dresden
Register here: Bus tour tickets
“Thinking ahead together” - Closing event of the traveling exhibition
August 14, 2025
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Dresden’s Central Library
Address: Schloßstr. 2, 01069 Dresden
Media contact:
Stephan Wiegand
Campus Life Advisor
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Directorate University Culture
Unit Campus Life
Tel.: +49 351 463-40314