‘Dictatorship and democracy in the age of extremes’

The exhibition featured as part of the German October events in Albania presents on 26 billboards 190 photographs from European archives.
TIRANA, Oct. 9 – “Dictatorship and democracy in the age of extremes: Spotlights on the history of Europe in the twentieth century” will be the new exhibition featured in Tirana as part of the German October events.
The exhibition tells the tale of Europe’s 20th century as a dramatic story oscillating between freedom and tyranny, democracy and dictatorship. It marks the conjunction of a number of anniversaries in 2014 which illustrate how closely intertwined national histories were in the
“century of extremes”: 100 years ago, World War I broke out; 75 years ago, Germany unleashed the Second World War; 25 years ago, with the fall of the Berlin Wall peaceful revolutions took place ending the division of Europe; and finally, 10 years ago, the European Union saw its first wave of eastward enlargement. All of these events and developments had immediate implications and consequences for Albania as well.
The exhibition presents on 26 billboards 190 photographs from European archives. It was put together by the Munich Institute for Contemporary History, Deutschlandradio Kultur and the Foundation for the Study of the SED Dictatorship and is supported by the German Foreign Office.
The exhibition will run at the National History Museum from 13th to 19th October and will be shown in Albanian language with explanatory text available in English.
Theatre, films, music, exhibitions and discussions will be the highlights of this year’s eighth edition of the German October events in Albania. For four weeks, the German October events will focus on cross-border projects linking Albanian culture to that of Germany, bringing together Germans and Albanians exchanging their experience in arts and culture.