Thursday 5.11.2026 6.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
In March 2026, the novel PULVER by language and theatre artist Johann Reißer was published. It deals with a subject that has become increasingly explosive in recent times: rearmament.
The novel tells the story of an arms factory and its founder, the industrialist Max Duttenhofer (1843–1903), who invented smokeless gunpowder and built a global corporation within just a few decades. His illegitimate granddaughter Rosa experiences the consequences of the escalating arms race during the First World War while working at the powder factory. PULVER is a historical and family saga that depicts how militarism and nationalism transform society. The Swabian Duttenhofer’s invention had a direct impact on the arms industry, which was massively expanded in Spandau, and on the rearmament policy adopted in Berlin.
The reading will take place in the exhibition on the military industry in Spandau, in the Exerzierhalle (Drill Hall). It will be accompanied by a guided tour, numerous images, and an explicit invitation for audience members to ask questions.
/ In German
/ Introduction and moderation: Dr. Urte Evert, Museum Director
/ Free admission
/ Exerzierhalle (Drill Hall)
Image: © Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt
