Renate Großmann's confirmation, Teupitz 1952, photographer unknown, private archive Dr Renate Werwigk-Schneider
Escape Actions
As a young woman, Renate Werwigk-Schneider, née Großmann, tried to flee the GDR twice. Both attempts failed. Renate was convicted and sent to prison. A ransom was eventually paid to the GDR for her release to the Federal Republic in 1968.
Based on letter correspondences with friends from that time and personal contact with Renate Werwigk-Schneider, the online exhibition “Escape Actions” tells her story from different perspectives: the person in the GDR who wants to flee, her friends in West Germany, lawyers, judicial bodies. In this way the exhibition offers an interesting glimpse into the inner-German escape movement and German-German relations on both a personal and political level.