City Walk: Places of the GDR Women's/Lesbian Movement and the Transition Period in Prenzlauer Berg

Open to: Everyone. Samirah Kenawi was born in East Berlin in 1962. She witnessed and helped shape the beginnings of the lesbian movement in the GDR and was active in several unofficial GDR groups before the fall of the Wall, including the well-known Berlin group 'Lesbians in the Church,' which met at the Gethsemanekirche in Prenzlauer Berg starting in the mid-80s. The group was known for its activism, advocating for the visibility of lesbian life and taking political stands for peace, a more open society, and against state appropriation of history and people. Samirah initiated and founded the GrauZone archive, which preserves documents of the GDR women's/lesbian movement and makes them accessible to the public. Samirah was active in the Independent Women's Association (UFV), one of the major women's initiatives of the transition period, whose Berlin office she managed starting in 1990. She will lead us to important places of the women's/lesbian movement of the 80s and the transition period in Prenzlauer Berg—a district that stands for the East Berlin queer scene and the activities of the political opposition during the GDR era. The number of participants is limited. Please register at: L-Ost-2026@posteo.de. The event is part of the event series L*Ost 2026 - Women's/Lesbian Perspectives on the GDR and the Transition Period. It is funded by the Berlin Senate for Culture and Social Cohesion as well as the Hannchen Mehrzweck Foundation.