Berlin is responding by hosting the first edition of Berlin Freedom Week from Nov 8 to Nov 15, featuring over 70 events at more than 30 locations across the city, according to Visit Berlin.

The week aims to provide a platform for freedom activists and prominent democrats from around the world.

The Berlin Freedom Conference on Nov 10 at the Gasometer on the EUREF campus will serve as the main event. Attendees are expected to include civil rights activists, researchers, media professionals, and politicians.

Open to residents and visitors alike, the programme includes participation from museums, embassies, theatres, and historic sites. Events will focus on the significance of freedom in Berlin and its relevance in the current global context.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. Photo: Sujoy Dhar

The patron of the event is the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner.

Berlin Freedom Conference: The Key Focus

The main event of Berlin Freedom Week will be the Berlin Freedom Conference on Nov 10.

Stakeholders from politics, business, civil society, and the media will come together at the Schöneberger Gasometer. In keynote speeches and panels, they will discuss how freedom and democracy can be protected and strengthened in times of growing autocracies, Visit Berlin said.

Guests include the Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk, the Russian journalist and civil rights activist Vladimir Kara-Mursa, Ben Hodges, former Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces in Europe, and the Director of the German Economic Institute, Professor Dr Michael Hüther.

Speakers from the World Liberty Congress include the President and renowned Iranian journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad and the Venezuelan politician and freedom activist Leopoldo López.

Museum Island in Berlin. Photo: Visit Berlin FB

Freedom Mobil to tour key Berlin Landmarks

Between Nov 8 - Nov 15, speakers from Berlin Freedom Week will travel across the city on the Berlin Freedom Mobil, a mobile stage hosting daily five-hour programmes at prominent public locations.

Visitors can expect talks, performances, film screenings, audio exhibits, and interactive activities.

According to Visit Berlin, a major attraction will be a life-size replica of the Freedom Bell, originally gifted to West Berlin in 1950 by 16 million Americans and housed at Schöneberg Town Hall.

The travelling exhibition is curated and designed by Beier+Wellach in partnership with the Ernst Reuter Archive, the Airlift Donation Foundation, and the American Jewish Committee, and is sponsored by the German Postcode Lottery.

From Book to Film

The programme includes film, literature, theatre, art, workshops, and dialogues, Visit Berlin mentioned.

At the Colosseum film theatre, "Stories of Freedom" will feature ten films and panels with international dissidents, with a focus on "Women as the voice of freedom."

One screening, "Who, if not us?", is a documentary about three women advocating for a democratic Belarus following the 2020 protests.

Tierpark, Berlin. Photo: Visit Berlin FB

The Future Freedom Lab at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation will offer workshops, dialogues, and creative activities for young people to engage with ideas of democracy.

The book presentation "Two, Three Blue Eyes" by Victor Schefé at the Tränenpalast provides a literary reference to freedom.

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk will read from his book "Freedom Shock" in the conference room of the DDR Museum.

The Chinese exile artist Badiucao and the American journalist Melissa Chan talk about art, activism, and censorship at the Literaturhaus at "You Must Take Part in the Revolution".

Theatre performances will also be part of the week, including the historical drama "The Trial of Hans Litten" at Pfefferberg, which explores themes of freedom, justice, and dictatorship.

Visitors can experience Berlin’s history during Freedom Week through a multimedia tour of the former border strip. The German Historical Museum’s "Autumn '89" programme invites participants to share their personal experiences during the fall of the Berlin Wall.