Overview

• Police counted around 500 attendees at the PEN Berlin–organized marketplace discussion with Michel Friedman in Klütz.
• Friedman criticized mayoral interference in the literature house’s programming and said claims that he did not “fit” in Klütz affected him personally.
• Mayor Jürgen Mevius has announced he will step down at the end of October, while disputing claims he cited security risks and pointing instead to costs.
• Literature house director Oliver Hintz says the withdrawal followed a call from the mayor and noted a yellow banner on the building that he viewed as an affront to Friedman’s Jewishness.
• Speakers at the rally reflected a split in the town, with support voiced for Mevius and pointed criticism of Hintz, as PEN’s Thea Dorn urged a civil debate on artistic freedom.