Fritz Seemann in Weiden: A Moving Book Presentation about Escape and Remembrance
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Fritz Seemann: A Moving Historical Testimony from the Prague Press World
On November 3, 2026, the Regional Library Weiden invites you to an urgent book presentation about journalist Fritz Seemann. The focus is on the new publication “We Are Here in a Mouse Trap”, edited by Annette Kraus and Prof. Dr. Jörg Skriebeleit on behalf of the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial.
Letters, Newspaper Texts, and the Search for an Escape
Fritz Seemann worked in the 1930s as an editor at the Prager Tagblatt, the most significant German-language daily newspaper in the former Czechoslovakia. His reports on the rise of Hitler transformed from critical distance to profound dismay in light of the National Socialist dictatorship and the beginning of the persecution of Jewish people.
A special focus of the book presentation is on Seemann's correspondence with astronomer Arthur Beer in London. From an initially private exchange, a systematic search for an escape route developed. The Munich Agreement of 1938 and the occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 dramatically worsened the situation.
A Literary Event with Historical Depth
Annette Kraus and Prof. Dr. Jörg Skriebeleit will present the publication and read from the letters. Photographs, historical documents, and biographical information portray a bilingual intellectual navigating through journalism, music, broadcasting, and film. The event combines book presentation, reading, and remembrance culture into a concentrated event experience.
The history of the Prager Tagblatt becomes tangible: the selected newspaper texts and personal documents provide insight into the last years of the newspaper and the desperate escape attempts of many people before National Socialist persecution.
Fritz Seemann and the Memory of Flossenbürg
Fritz Seemann was born in 1900 in the northern Bohemian town of Reichenberg, now Liberec. After studying music in Prague and achieving initial success as an operetta composer, he switched to journalism in 1929. He also worked for Czech radio, film, and advertising. He died in 1942 in the Flossenbürg concentration camp.
The editors bring scientific expertise from cultural studies, German studies, Bohemistics, and historical remembrance work. Jörg Skriebeleit directs the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Memorial and conducts research on remembrance culture, testimony, and the history of the Nazi era. Annette Kraus works as an author, editor, and translator for museums and media.
Free Admission at the Regional Library Weiden
The book presentation begins on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at 7:00 PM and lasts until 8:30 PM. The venue is the Franz-Joachim-Behnisch Hall in the Regional Library Weiden. Admission is free.
Visitors can expect a reflective evening with historical sources, personal letters, and a publication that links journalistic work, escape history, and remembrance culture. Those who want to experience the past from the perspective of an affected journalist will find an impressive access point here.
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