Life Before Letters, Chapter 8: 1968
At the 20th Frankfurt Book Fair, my first Book Fair as part of the organizational team, I participated only as an observer. As a new colleague in the exhibition department, I was not directly involved in the work of the Fair, though here and there I did my part with smaller tasks and errands. I could therefore look at the events on the fairgrounds with a certain cool composure.
It was quite the opposite for Sigfred Taubert, who despite all declarations to the contrary was deeply affected in his self-understanding as director of the Fair, something which in my opinion a few years later factored into his decision to take an early retirement.
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An excerpt from Life Before Letters by Peter Weidhaas
Chapter 6: Going Home Again
They say that life moves forward in seven-year segments.
My childhood, the period from birth to age 7, 1938 to 1945, I can call nothing other than “happy.” The war seemed to be an adventure. Thanks to my parents’ care, I didn’t suffer any need. The bomb attacks on Berlin up until 1942 were exciting events for a young boy, who several times stood alongside the shelter supervisor at the door of the air-raid shelter to get a good look at the lights from the so-called “Christmas trees,” artificial illumination that was dropped to light up the bombing targets.
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One day in March 2000, I arrived at Frankfurt. I had had an appointment to meet a friend for a date which we had set up 6 months earlier.
In March, Frankfurt is much colder than in October, when the annual book fair is held, so it was a chilly Springtime. Unfortunately, my visit only lasted for two days. On one of the afternoons, my friend and I sat and talked near a glass window of a hotel with the sunshine streaming down, and this left me with many warm memories.
This friend had just retired from a job he had worked at for 25 years. I felt this tall guy looked different from the past. He was wearing a leather jacket now, when he always would wear suits. Another marked difference was that two or three days before my arrival, he had hurt his right arm so he could only move slowly.
But he shared with me some good news. Just a few months earlier, at the turn of the Millennium, a French media outlet had selected the most influential Europeans over the past 20 years. Among them, there were several Germans. One was the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the second was the 1999 Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass, and the third one was my dear friend, Peter Weidhaas.
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The Frankfurt Book Fair is almost here! Are you ready? Hopefully, this site will help you with tips, maps and near realtime information about the fair.
