"One morning, everything is gone – Joachim Ringelnatz in Sommerfeld"

Book reading with Roland Lampe. The poet, cabaret artist, and painter Joachim Ringelnatz (1883–1934) fell ill with tuberculosis in early 1934 and was admitted to the Waldhaus Clinic in Charlottenburg, located in Sommerfeld north of Berlin. There, he wrote a diary, and his letters have also been preserved, recounting his daily life in the clinic, visits from his wife Muschelkalk, as well as his dreams, thoughts, and feelings. In early October, he was released from the clinic, incurably ill, and died a month later at home in Berlin. However, the narrative is not only about his illness and how he coped with it, but also about his friendships with the actress Asta Nielsen, with Ernst Rowohlt, his publisher, and with the actor Paul Wegener, who delivered the farewell speech at his grave. He shared a special bond with Hermann Hesse, who understood how much "experience, reflection, suffering, the wisdom of fools and resignation, superiority, and wise humor" lay "behind this well-known mask, the popular act in cabaret." The history of the clinic in Sommerfeld is also part of the book. It still exists today, nestled in the landscape of East Havelland. (Source: Findling Book and Magazine Publishing)