Barbara Hahn Lectures on Rahel Levin Varnhagen

Last week, Barbara Hahn, Distinguished Professor of German at Vanderbilt University and editor-in-chief of the works of the eminent German-Jewish intellectual Rahel Levin Varnhagen, spoke about Varnhagen's unpublished opus magnum "Rahel: A Book of Commemoration For Her Friends" at Bard College.

How did this work make its way from the early 19th century to our time? What challenges are faced publishing this volume in the 21st century? How did Hannah Arendt's book on "Rahel Varnhagen" approach this legacy? Being excluded from the modern (German) university as a woman and a Jew, Rahel Varnhagen debated the turmoil of revolutionary Europe with Goethe and Heine, the Humboldt brothers and Hegel trough Salon conversations, in diaries, and especially by letters.

Watch the video of Barbara Hahn's presentation here and explore how hidden traditions challenge us to rethink our past.

-Thomas Wild