Kleist reacted to deep-seated social uncertainties, not only in his plays and novellas. His concepts for reform of the Prussian military and financial system, his design for a submarine, the invention of a “school of vice” based on a programme of “anti”-pedagogy, his demand to abandon the separation of scientific disciplines or his foundation of a boulevard newspaper in the capital city were all Kleist’s attempts to meet society’s challenges with constructive ideas. Kleist’s commitment made him a prototype of modern knowledge production; a project organiser, an “advocate for posterity” (Adam Müller).

The Federal Cultural Foundation and its project partners intend to pay tribute to one of the greatest German writers in the Kleist Memorial Year 2011.

Learn more about the projects in the Kleist Year 2011:

21st November 2011 is the 200th anniversary of the death of writer Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Memorial Year 2011 is an initiative of the German Federation, the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, and the City of Frankfurt (Oder) under the general management of the Heinrich von Kleist Society and the Kleist Museum.

The Federal Cultural Foundation is participating in this memorial year, realising several projects in collaboration with the Heinrich von Kleist Society Berlin, the Kleist Museum Frankfurt (Oder), Maxim Gorki Theatre Berlin, and the theatre group Rimini Protokoll. These will pay homage to the writer as a precursor to modernity, aiming to do justice to his artistic legacy and highlight its relevance for a wide audience.