Following its debut last year, the event returns with more than 150 events, from film screenings and exhibitions to guided tours, performances, conferences and public discussions.

The programme coincides with the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, linking the city’s history of division and reunification with present-day struggles for freedom around the world. Visitors will have opportunities to hear personal accounts of resistance, explore sites associated with Germany’s divided past and discuss the challenges facing democracies today.

Berlin Freedom Week is held under the patronage of the city’s Governing Mayor, Kai Wegner.

Can democracies stand together against authoritarianism?

One of the central events is the second Berlin Freedom Conference, scheduled for November 10 at the Colosseum cinema. Under the theme “Change is possible”, the full-day conference will bring together representatives from politics, business, civil society, culture and the media across multiple stages.

Discussions will focus on how democratic alliances can be strengthened to counter authoritarian regimes around the world and defend freedom.

The speakers include former world chess champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov, American historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, security expert Dr Claudia Major, Josephine Ballon of HateAid, and Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo López. The conference will open with an address by East German civil rights activist Marianne Birthler.

Another major gathering, the Freedom and Security Women Summit, will take place on November 9 at the German Bundestag. It will bring together women from politics and human rights movements who have challenged repression in different parts of the world.

Participants include Julia Klöckner, President of the German Bundestag; Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly; Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarusian opposition leader; Masih Alinejad, Iranian-American women’s rights activist; Roya Mahboob, Afghan technology entrepreneur; Rosa María Payá, Cuban opposition activist; and Rushan Abbas, Uyghur human rights activist.

The summit is a joint initiative of Evelyn Zupke, the Federal Commissioner for the Victims of the SED Dictatorship; My Stealthy Freedom; the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation; and Frauen für Freiheit.

The Berlin Freedom Conference, 2025. Photo: Visit Berlin/Mo Wüstenhagen

Films and personal stories of resistance

On November 11, the “Stories of Freedom” programme at the Colosseum cinema will screen international documentaries about people confronting oppression and injustice. The films have been selected by international juries and cover struggles for freedom and equal rights in different parts of the world.

Among the stories are those of LGBTQ+ soldiers in Ukraine fighting both for their country and for equal rights, and a Syrian investigator working to bring a war criminal to justice. Discussions with filmmakers will accompany the screenings, alongside an interactive virtual reality experience. Two additional free screenings for school students, followed by discussions, will introduce younger audiences to questions of freedom and human rights.

Inside Berlin’s divided past

Berlin Freedom Week also takes visitors to places that bear witness to Germany’s division, escape attempts and the peaceful revolution that led to reunification.

At the Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), the dance performance “BEYOND LINES” by LUNA PARK explores the idea of crossing boundaries through artistic expression. The building, once a border crossing between East and West Berlin, provides a historic setting for a performance centred on boundaries and their meaning.

Visitors can also join guided tours of escape tunnels organised by Berliner Unterwelten e. V., where eyewitnesses recount their experiences of escaping from East Germany. At the former headquarters of the Stasi, East Germany’s state security service, the “Ostfrauen*Salon” (East German Women’s Salon) on November 7 will bring people together for readings, a panel discussion and conversations.

The gathering will be organised around a long, laid table, giving visitors space to share experiences and exchange views.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. Photo: Visit Berlin/FB

From the lessons of 1989 to freedom today

Several events will look beyond Germany’s own history to consider how memories of oppression shape present-day debates about human rights and political responsibility.

The discussion “Between Two Dictatorships: Remembrance, Responsibility and Freedom”, featuring Holocaust survivor Boris Sabarko and historian Irina Scherbakowa, will examine historical memory and human rights. On November 12, the Humboldt Forum will host “1989 as a Call to Action: Missed Opportunities? New Perspectives?”, a discussion on what the Peaceful Revolution can teach society about the challenges it faces today.

The programme will also include “Reassembled”, a performance by Belarusian artists living in exile. Through dance, poetry and art, they will explore displacement, the meaning of home and political persecution, bringing their own experiences to the themes at the heart of Berlin Freedom Week.

Street food, letters and everyday acts of solidarity

Not every event will take the form of a conference or formal discussion. On November 12, the “Taiwan Night Market” at Markthalle Neun will bring Taiwanese street food specialities to Berlin for an evening celebrating the island’s culinary culture and the values of an open society.

On November 13, “Letters to Political Prisoners in Russia” at Reforum Space Berlin will invite visitors to write to people imprisoned for political reasons. While adults compose letters, children can learn about the prisoners’ stories through activities designed for their age group. The event offers families a way to engage with questions of freedom and solidarity through a practical act of support.

Two more conferences on Germany and Taiwan

The wider programme also includes two conferences scheduled around Berlin Freedom Week. On November 4, German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel will host “DER OSTEN – Conference for Ideas and Changemakers”, focusing on social and economic developments in eastern Germany.

On November 12 and 13, the “5th Taiwan Conference” will take place at the Berlin State Library. International participants will discuss new perspectives on relations between Germany and Taiwan.

Together, the events connect Berlin’s experience of division and peaceful change with current debates on democracy, political repression, social cohesion and international relations.