Special exhibition at the Günter Grass House
Since its opening in 2002, the Günter Grass House a vibrant center for engaging with art, language, and contemporary history. Here, Nobel laureate Günter Grass is presented not only as a writer, but also as a draftsman, sculptor, and committed witness to his time. The Grass House has repeatedly brought us closer to the man, Günter Grass. It consistently explores aspects of his life and work in its exhibitions that resonate with us emotionally. I'm thinking, for example, of "Grass Dances" or "Grass Cooks."
The current special exhibition on the first floor of the building at Glockengießerstraße 21 is dedicated to Günter Grass as a neighbor. It also explores the theme of "home," which Grass repeatedly approached in various ways throughout his life and work. Where does a person feel safe and secure? What even is home? Where did Günter Grass feel at home? This question guides us like a common thread through the exhibition, from Gdansk to Lübeck. Let's pause together at a few stations within the exhibition.
The Word Waterfall
A surprising element is the "word waterfall," which immediately catches the eye upon entering the room and serves as a link between the individual stations of the exhibition: In the installation, light artist Thorsten Bauer words onto flowing water. Günter Grass, the word magician, comes alive here, and as a visitor to the exhibition, you experience a moment of deceleration. [The following appears to be a separate, unrelated sentence fragment: Sour pickle greed. Heimatschmalzette. Please stop and read along.]
In the basin below this word-waterfall, as many rubber ducks as possible, brought in by exhibition visitors, are to find a new home in the coming weeks. At least, that's the idea of the museum team. Rubber ducks? Günter Grass's rubber duck suddenly appears in " My Century ," a story that oscillates between literature and life, when a reader presents it to the newly celebrated author of "The Tin Drum" in 1980. Years later, Grass captured the duck in a delicate watercolor. Behind the cute duck lies a serious story. It has become a symbol for those unassuming things that carry history and evoke memories. And can't a rubber duck also be a symbol of home?
Gdansk
For Günter Grass and his family, their homeland of Danzig was as fleeting as flowing water. Grass's childhood was marked by loss and war. Only a few photographs remained. Grass was a refugee child and remained a lifelong seeker. However, he also experienced loss and homelessness as a form of liberation. His conviction was:
The horizons of the homeless are broader than those of the inhabitants of small and large inherited properties.
The wall of currents takes up the idea of flowing water. The beloved Baltic Sea near Gdansk. Later, the Baltic Sea near Lübeck. Leaving traces in the sand. Collecting stones, feathers, and amber. Here we encounter the man Grass. A display case shows some of his treasures, which he later also sketched.
The Lübeck city map
In Lübeck, Grass found an atmosphere reminiscent of Gdansk. He actively participated in political and social life, gave readings, campaigned for the Olympic Games, and supported Lübeck's bid to host the sailing events in 2002. He also lectured at the University of Lübeck. Newspaper clippings and photographs mark the moments and places of his work on a map of Lübeck on the wall to the left of the entrance. These include, for example, his entry in the Golden Book of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck and his being named "Pipe Smoker of the Year."
In 2014, Grass described a visit to the Lübeck Christmas market. In this manuscript, he shares thoughts that troubled him and reveals himself as a person whose life was frequently accompanied by dark emotions and melancholy.
Glockengießerstraße 21
The house on Glockengießerstraße was one of Grass's true havens. He kept his office here. His literary gatherings took place here. He managed his five foundations from here. He recorded his books here, and his first stop after receiving the Nobel Prize in Stockholm on September 30, 1990, following the press conference and a quick dentist appointment, was always Glockengießerstraße.
Grass himself said he felt very much at home in Lübeck and on Glockengießerstraße. He was perceived as an open and approachable person, and one might encounter him while shopping for pipe tobacco or corduroy trousers. Taking a selfie with him was also possible.
One of his immediate neighbors is Kurt Thater. A true friend, to be precise. One of the few people who, besides being a family member, was allowed to accompany Grass to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize ceremony.
Wein Castell winery,
located right next to the Günter Grass House which we briefly introduced in one of our articles . One of the exhibition photos shows him and Günter Grass in a close embrace – taken at the Nobel Prize ceremony for Literature. Now a generational change is imminent: Kurt Thater will soon retire. His successor, however, has already been chosen – and what a successor it is! None other than the world-renowned children's author Cornelia Funke Tintencafé here in 2027. Like Thater, she too was closely connected to Günter Grass. You can find her personal account of meeting Grass in 2014 in the digital archive of the Günter Grass House – an encounter full of respect, wonder, and quiet intimacy.
Behlendorf
In 1985, Günter and Ute Grass found their refuge in Behlendorf, in the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg: a house nestled in the Lauenburg terminal moraine landscape, which reminded Grass of his beloved Kashubia. The couple lived there for three decades – open, welcoming, with a view of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. For Grass, Behlendorf became a "place of arrival, place of departure, and place of retreat," as he himself called it. From here, he traveled, got involved, and remained tirelessly committed – whether in the debate about refugee policy, in his work for Cap Anamur, or after the attack on the asylum seekers' home in Mölln in 1992.
The large garden, the old fruit trees, the constant view of the water: all of this became a place of strength for him. And his animals also gave him strength – Minka, the cat, and above all Kara, the dog. Having grown up with dogs, Grass cherished their unconditional closeness. Kara was more than a companion – often his muse. " Dogs are capable of putting things into perspective ," he once wrote. A sentence that says a lot about the man behind the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The inner space – your inner space
Every exhibition at the Günter Grass House invites visitors to actively participate. This time, the team around Director Jörg-Philipp Thomsa and curator Julia Wittmer has come up with something special: Where is your home? "Mama Learns German" explored in advance . Their answers – colorful, moving, and diverse – have been incorporated into the exhibition. And you, too, are invited to share your thoughts. Whether through writing, painting, or drawing – anything is possible. Because home has many forms. And every one deserves to be seen.
Perhaps you're one of those who say, "Home is where my refrigerator is." – Well, go ahead! Then become part of the exhibition and contribute. In a small interior space, a refrigerator awaits your words. Create your own personal, magical, magnetic concept – and place it right there. A silent statement, a quiet thought, a smile made of language. Because home can also be a word that sticks.
It's wonderful to see how the team at the Günter Grass House has once again succeeded in inspiring both seasoned Grass enthusiasts and those encountering him for the first time with the life and work of this exceptional artist. Günter Grass was a once-in-a-century talent – a writer, illustrator, and thinker. But also: a person just like you and me. Take this opportunity to rediscover him. The special exhibition "Grass and Lübeck: The Neighbor Next Door" is on display until April 13, 2026 – the tenth anniversary of Grass's death.
Bettina and Christina Aust were also allowed to be present with the LÜBECK ZWISCHENTÖNE at the start of the exhibition:
