Stephen Spender: Happy in Berlin

Fascinated by the progressive ethos of Berlin in 1920s and early 1930s, this display charted the political clashes between Communists and Fascists through the eyes of writer Stephen Spender. Along with W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, they created a myth of Berlin as an exhilarating but fragile haven of creative and personal freedom, which was to be swept away by Hitler’s rise to power.

This display drew on archival holdings and other rare material in the Bodleian Libraries to explore this fascinating period in Stephen Spender’s life.

 Curator

Dr Stefano Evangelista, Associate Professor in the Faculty of English and Tutorial Fellow, Trinity College

Acknowledgements

Part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project which also includes exhibitions and events in the Literaturhaus Berlin and the Humboldt University.

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