Railroad theater "OVER THE FENCE" tells recent German history

The theater Das Letzte Kleinod and the Kleist Forum make this summer a special chapter of German-German history to experience: the escape of thousands of GDR citizens who climbed over the fence of the Federal German Embassy in Prague to force their departure to the West. "OVER THE FENCE" can be seen from 24 to 26 June as an open-air theater on the railroad grounds in Frankfurt (Oder).

At first there were only a few dozen, but gradually more and more people sought refuge in the embassy, which turned into a refugee camp within a few days. Women and children were accommodated in the rooms, for the men the Red Cross set up folding beds under the open sky. Food was passed through the fence from the neighborhood. Finally, the GDR government gave in and allowed them to leave the country on trains operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

The eighth co-production of the theater Das Letzte Kleinod with the Kleist Forum deals with a story that contributed significantly to the opening of the borders and the fall of the Wall. The events of 1989 changed the world and turned many lives in very different directions. The author and director Jens-Erwin Siemssen has condensed the memories of contemporary witnesses into a theater text. "ÜBER DEN ZAUN" is set in the open air around a passenger train carriage.

Note: The performances have limited accessibility.

When and where?

Saturday, 6/24 - Monday, 6/26/2023 - 8:00 p.m.
Monday, 6/26/2023 - 11:00 a.m. (school performance)
Railroad premises, access via August-Bebel-Straße/Fürstenwalder Straße, 15234 Frankfurt (Oder)
 

OVER THE FENCE - railroad theater about the flight to the West
A co-production of the Kleist Forum with the theater Das Letzte Kleinod

Funded by: LVA Saxony-Anhalt, MWFK Brandenburg, MWK Lower Saxony, Foundation Lower Saxony, Landschaftsverband Stade, Foundation Braunschweigischer Kulturbesitz, Lotto Saxony-Anhalt, Cultural Foundation Thuringia, TMIL Thuringia, County Cuxhaven, Municipality Schiffdorf, City of Helmstedt, Savings Bank Arnstadt-Ilmenau, City of Finsterwalde, City of Fürstenwalde, Oder-Spree County, Osterholz County, Elbe-Elster County and Savings Bank Foundation "Future Elbe-Elster Land", Karin Witte Foundation Salzwedel and Ilmkreis