Sisters in Arms
Julia Woykowska & Bettina von Arnim
Anna Krenz
“Revolutions are not crimes, but the consequences of them.”
Bettina von Arnim
“Bettina will rewrite her whole book about the Poles after my comments.”
Julia Woykowska
“Sisters in Arms” is the story of the friendship between two writers, Bettina von Arnim from Berlin and Julia Molińska-Woykowska from Poznan, Poland. It is another part of a series of projects titled “The Missing Half of History,” an attempt to complete Polish-German history by remembering women – forgotten heroines who were erased from the pages of history. Polish women who, 100 years ago, fought alongside women in Germany for their rights, were victims of wars and oppression, but also fighters who utilized various forms of action, including words.
In 2023, we want to reflect on the significance of the fight for freedom during the Spring of Nations and the Polish-German sisterhood in the 19th century by juxtaposing two women, Julia Molińska-Woykowska from Poznan and Bettina von Arnim from Berlin, who fought together for freedom and independence. Both came from privileged families, both wrote books, articles, and letters, both were involved in publishing and social work. Both advocated for the poor and social justice. Both were unconventional and liberated in their own ways.
They met in Berlin in 1848 when Julia Molińska-Woykowska came to fight for the release of the lawyer, conspirator, and revolutionary Jakub Krauthofer-Krotowski. This episode, the friendship between the two women, and their collective actions are scarcely described and often overlooked in historical texts that focus on men and their achievements during the People’s War and the March Revolution. In the Polish case in Berlin, it mainly revolves around the “Polish Trial” and the myth of Ludwik Mieroslawski or Krauthofer-Krotowski. But what do we know about the women who fought for the well-being of the working people, the freedom of nations, or the liberation of these men? Bettina von Arnim assisted Julia Molińska-Woykowska in her contacts with high-ranking officials, and Julia Molińska-Woykowska provided Bettina von Arnim with valuable source information about Poland in her later letters for her “Poland Brochure.” The role of Julia Molińska-Woykowska in the developments of the Polish cause during the March Revolution and the Spring of Nations is underestimated. The publications of Bettina von Arnim (not only those related to Poland) are not widely known in Poland. The knowledge, literary work, and commitment of these women in the fight for freedom and the rights of the oppressed contribute to the discussion on German-Polish friendship today, artistic forms of activism, and contemporary struggles for freedom.
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Bettina von Arnim & Julia Woykowska
3d pop-up comic portraits
by Anna Krenz
March | 8.3.2023
For the International Women's Day in 2023, I have made banners on black lace textiles on which I wrote in gold letters a slogan symbolizing (for me) Polish (and German) fights for freedom in the 19th century during the March Revolution and the Spring of Nations. These words, "For our and your freedom" are a paraphrase of the words of a Polish activist and insurgent, Ludwik Mierosławski, who after being released from prison in Moabit (after the famous Polish Trial) uttered them while walking in the Triumphal March together with a crowd of German and Polish residents of Berlin. The crowd reached the King's Palace (today Humboldt Forum), where the king bowed to the freed Poles. These moments showed that nations can act together and fight for freedom (partly jointly). I describe these events in the exhibition "Freedom, Equality, Solidarity". These events are also an inspiration for me to create a feminist Polish-German community fighting for freedom today.
What does our feminist Triumphal March look like today? What are fighting for? What is freedom today?
Black lace banners and speeches in solidarity with Poland and Georgia
International Women's Day, 8.3.2023
Photos: Maciej Soja, Soja Photography
Sisters in Arms
Video by Anna Krenz and Mareike Wenzel
Performance
Halfsister Displays | July 8. July 2023 | from 2 till 10 PM
Pop-up Exhibition and Performance
An evening with the opening of a pop-up exhibition on the political and literary friendship between the writers Bettina von Arnim from Berlin and Julia Woykowska from Poznan, and the time of the March Revolution and the Spring of Nations. The opening will be accompanied by a performative reading of letters and excerpts from the books of both writers, in a contemporary dialogue between the actress Mareike Wenzel from Berlin and the artist Anna Krenz from Poznan, which relates to current struggles for freedom.
Our theme for the upcoming Halfsister Displays is Collections and will take place on July 8th from 2 till 10PM. On this day we will display collection sets by us and others. We will also have some food, drinks, back-gammon, clothing and fortunetelling in the form of coffee reading/ tasseography. We will display: Collections of Ana and Sophia Tabatadze, Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty – ‘Minute/Year: Seven Years’; Yamil Rodriguez – glass slides for Laterna Magica
Programme:
5 PM / Patrycja Rozwora – book presentation ‘Kitchen Conversations Cookbook: Homey Recipes from Artists’.
7 PM / Anna Krenz and Mareike Wenzel – performance ‘Sisters in Arms’, about the political and literary friendship between the writers Bettina von Arnim from Berlin and Julia Woykowska from Poznan.
Ort: Halfsister, Torgauer Straße 1, 10829 Berlin-Schöneberg
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/halfsisterberlin/
http://halfsisterberlin.com/
