Storytelling

Dr Jörn Münkner and I came up with the idea for this workshop. He has been a DAAD lecturer in Albania since September 2025. As part of his role, he identified opportunities for innovative and creative projects for Bachelor's and Master's students.

At the start of the workshop, Jonida Bushi, Professor and Head of the German Studies Department at the University of Tirana, and Dr Münkner welcomed the students and lecturers.

Kickoff. To get things started, I asked three questions about places that hold significance in the lives of the students. The participants wrote their ideas on pieces of paper and presented them to each other verbally. We then moved to the computer lab.

Stories with an autobiographical background were written in record time. The authors were amazed at how easy it was. They also expressed their delight at being the ‘experts’ in their chosen subject area – after all, it was their life. They had something to say, and many of them could do the research into their families' history with their parents, grandmothers, and uncles.

Here is the collection of our stories (in German).

Flowers

While not all the stories were finalised and published, the participants did receive a certificate. We celebrated the group's success.

I, too, received a certificate as a token of appreciation, signed by all the participants. I was also presented with a huge bouquet of tulips.

The Eagle Show

Some schools in Albania offer German lessons. The German-Albanian School is one of them. Accompanied by teacher Hendrik Schäfer, we visited two classes of pupils aged thirteen and fourteen. After discussing the matter with Hendrik, I devised a three-hour workshop that fitted into the curriculum and could be linked to a group project for which the pupils would receive a grade.

First, we took a look around the site. It used to be a porcelain factory, but now it houses schools and universities.

In preparation for the workshop, I drew a double-headed eagle to use as a template for our project. The double-headed eagle adorns the Albanian national flag, and thanks to Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, it has become famous — or rather, infamous — far beyond the world of Swiss football. The drawing proved to be a powerful starting point.

First, the German teacher welcomed the class and his guests.

The class representative welcomed me and my companions with a carefully prepared speech. I then struck up a conversation with the class. I started by discussing Hannah Arendt’s fairy tale The Wise Animals.

What sort of animals might appear in Hannah Arendt’s fairy tale? Dozens of suggestions came straight away, followed by the first animals from mythology and the Bible, such as Pegasus. Indeed, he is part of Hannah Arendt’s cast of characters.

The camel and its conversation with the girl took centre stage. I read out the extract, showed my drawings of it and pinned the double-headed eagle to the board. Then I explained what we were going to do next:

To bring spirit of the game into the teamwork, I had prepared some demonstration material: a dialogue between two 'Eagle Heads'. Hendrik kindly agreed to play one of the Eagles. We performed the dialogue in front of the class.

The entire workshop was based on this model: writing in pairs, designing an A3 poster and performing the dialogue in front of the class.

Playing

Fortunately, we had enough time. Our schedule was flexible.

Time and again, Hendrik and I had to extend the time, as the double eagle was also being painted, and the poster was being turned into a collage of images and text. Finally, the moment had arrived. Each team (one consisting of even three Eagles) presented their work: the poster was hung on the board and the dialogue was acted out. The Eagle teams stepped out before their audience, full of excitement and perhaps a little nervous too. Without a dress rehearsal, everyone gave it their all and did their very best.

Farewell

After the show, the class representative came on stage again. On behalf of the class, he thanked us for the morning and presented me with a box of delicious Albanian pralines.

It was a unique experience for us. Everyone wrote, designed, performed on stage and was able to receive our applause. A workshop with tangible results, stories developed through play and, last but not least, top marks for the class.

Girls

Having taught at the German School in San Salvador, I was familiar with German schools abroad. When Jörn and I drove to the city of Shkodra, it was my first visit at an Austrian school.

Swiss television had featured this culturally significant town in northern Albania because a man from Zurich had emigrated there (TV report, audio report). The school is situated in an idyllic part of town. That morning, a fresh breeze made the flags flutter. It was the time of the A-level exams.

Alfred Rasinger organised the meeting, bringing together a total of three classes. I spoke to the thirteen-year-old pupils on two occasions, for three-quarters of an hour each time. I talked about my work, read aloud, showed drawings and film trailers, recited poems with the class and listened to songs.

I focused on some of the girls about whom I have produced films, biographies, a novel and a picture book. I started with the two Austrian women I wanted to introduce to the pupils. Annemarie, who was born in Vienna, and Ingeborg, who is from Klagenfurt, are both celebrating their 100^th birthdays this year.

How did the film Whatever Comes Next come about? How did I come up with the idea for the miniature landscapes that I built for it? I also showed photos from behind the scenes and, of course, the trailer.

I also talked about my second film and how I came up with the idea for it. Brunngasse 8 tells the story of a house, as well as that of Silvana, an Italian girl who lived through two world wars. These events had a profound impact on her life. She lost both her father and her husband - a loss she carried throughout her life.

Experimenting with masks and puppets also helped me to develop the plot and the scenes for the animated film. It was a strong motivation for me to find an artistic way to express the subject matter.

The final story about girls who grew up during the war focused on Annemarie from Austria and three girls from Germany. They were children of German or Jewish families during the First or Second World War and lost their fathers at a very young age.

I was only able to read a few more sentences of the fairy tale The Wise Animals, which Hannah Arendt wrote for children and young people. The story follows a girl who lives in wartime and embarks on a journey into the world of animals, ultimately finding what she was looking for. A copy of my book is now in the library of the school.

The teacher had prepared the pupils for the visit. One girl drew a greeting on the blackboard. It was wonderful to see the interest in their eyes and to answer their questions. It was also great to see the cool lads from the back of the class move right to the front for the second lesson.

Alfred wrote to me afterwards: "You have dared to do something that is by no means commonplace in a world full of unspoken rules and taboos. In a patriarchal environment where women are often overlooked, you consistently focused on them. As a well-known writer, you did not shine the spotlight on the usual male characters and role models, but instead gave women a voice. That alone raised questions, opened up new ways of thinking, and came as a surprise."

He emphasised something that is truly close to my heart: "The pupils were deeply impressed by your presence. It wasn’t just what you said, although your words carried weight too, but above all the way you spoke: your energy, your passion, your intonation and your authenticity. The pupils sensed that you enjoyed being with them. That is the most important thing! You didn’t just come to tick off an appointment and then disappear again. You sought to connect with them, you engaged with them, and you made them feel seen. You can’t fake that kind of attitude – people can sense it. I sensed it."

The following day, the Viennese duo Dominik Fuss and Andreas Tausch performed in Tirana. They had been invited to perform at Cloudfest, an event supported by the Austrian Embassy.

Alfred and Charly, the headteacher, decided on the spur of the moment to attend the concert. So we saw each other again – hopefully not for the last time.