"My 68"

The only thing that occurs to me here is Marquis Posa: “Tell him that he should keep true to the dreams of his youth when he’s a man....” (Friedrich Schiller, Letters to Don Karlos, eighth letter).More ...

The first question that concerns me is: who actually belongs? Only those who were in the SDS back then or out on the streets? – As for myself, at that time I was foundering in nappies and motherhood, for my three daughters were born in 1967 and 1969 (twins). More ...

For me, 1968 awakens two sets of memories. It was not just about the so-called "Student Revolution" in the West; there was the Prague Spring as well! I watched the attempt to create "socialism with a human face" with greater excitement and hope. More ...

How did I experience the movement of “68” ? I could not experience it, because it did not exist back then. Nobody knew it by that name. It came about much later. Today nobody can say exactly who or what is actually being referred to.More ...

It is 1968 – my father publishes a conservative political newspaper in Istanbul. He is a real stalwart anti-Communist. The mood is tense. His office is in the old part of town opposite the student union that is in the hands of right-wing students. More ...

I came to Germany when I was 17 – a confused child who found refuge and comfort in the rebellion. Ever since that same child has been trying to understand the question that is asked at the beginning of every revolt.More ...

What did I – a student in Hamburg – think of the "1968" movement at the time? – I thought the famous demonstration with the banner proclaiming "Under the gowns / Is the musty odour of a thousand years" was very good. A fresh headwind to counter the rigid patriarchal structures of the university was long overdue. More ...

In 1968 I was on the board of directors at Zellstoff-Fabrik Waldhof in Mannheim –at the time the second largest cellulose and paper plant in Germany with a payroll of about 10,000 employees. Back then I did not have much time at all for the “68” protesters – their appearance alone was enough to put me off. More ...

The solidarity that was so ardently heaped on what used to be called the Third World in the 60s and 70s was born not so much of political insight and conviction, but more of a wistful romanticism that reflected the exotic yearnings of an angry, rebellious younger generation that wanted to escape its own existence and was on the look-out for likeminded companions. More ...

For me the ’68 movement meant liberation from the constraints of the smug, hypocritical, bourgeois way of life (and from many a sadistic old Nazi teacher). I also recall crazy, fun outfits and nice-looking men with long hair.More ...

The student revolt of “68” for us – the Lebanese Left – would be, as we saw it, a huge boost for Arab societies to help them along the road to modernity and secularism – a road we were convinced they would sure-footedly march along at a determined pace.More ...

The wind of May 1968 constantly drifts through my texts and my imagination. Sometimes I notice it as it stirs inside me. Sometimes I encounter it in a poem or a text. It never disappears.More ...

For me there are various reasons why “68” was such a huge awakening. For one thing “68” was substantially instrumental in forcing the whole of German society to finally start discussing its Nazi past.More ...

By 1968 I was in South Vietnam and experienced the Tet offensive and the later defense of Saigon.More ...