Journalistenprogramm zur
Vertiefung der deutsch-türkischen Beziehungen

Eine Initiative der
in Zusammenarbeit mit dem

Presseschau: Turkish Daily News 26.03.2006

When German readers meet ‘Türkischen Bibliothek’…

EMİNE KART

ANKARA -  TDN Sunday, March 26, 2006 

  The Robert Bosch Foundation -- set up in 1964 and one of the great private foundations in Germany -- has launched an initiative called the “Turkish Library” (Turkische Bibliotek).

  Dr. Bettina Berns, head of the Robert Bosch Foundation's department for Turkish affairs, last week accompanied a group of German journalists during a program jointly organized by the Turkey-Germany Cultural Forum (Kulturforum Türkei-Deutschland) and the Robert Bosch Foundation.

  Speaking in an interview with the Turkish Daily News, Berns said that the foundation “wanted to improve the picture of Turkey among the German population.”

  “We would also like the Turkish population -- especially the intelligent population -- to realize that Germany has a much more differentiated outline than is generally known in Turkey.”

  Without hiding her enthusiasm about the “Turkish Library” initiative, Berns explained that the library will be composed of 20 volumes, two of which have already been published: Leyla Erbil's “A Weird Woman” (1971) and Ahmet Ümit's “Fog and Night” (1996).

  The collection features select texts by renowned authors whose works have not yet been made accessible to German readers despite their significance in Turkish literature.

  The initiative, which cost 650,000 euros, aims to introduce German-speaking readers to the cultural and intellectual world of modern Turkey, Berns said.

  One of the objectives of the “Turkish Library” is to bring authors and artists in direct contact with the German-speaking readership, which includes second and third generation Turkish immigrants in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Each new publication, starting with the launch of the collection in August 2005, will be supported by public readings in several cities, discussion forums and diverse cultural activities.

  Fourteen volumes of the 20-volume library will be Turkish novels by writers of the 20th century, among which there will be names like Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Murat Uyurkulak, Murathan Mungan, Oğuz Atay and Sabahattin Ali.

‘Mutual respect key for integration':

  Observing her genuine faith and confidence in these kinds of projects for contributing to successful integration amongst the European public, one wonders what Berns has been thinking of the ongoing debate in her country concerning a proposed citizenship test that would ask candidates to list three philosophers, name the doctor who found a cure for cholera and identify a Nobel laureate.

  “Integration is a big problem for a country to challenge, I admit. But I don't think that this means that these kinds of tests will help at all,” Berns briefly responded.

  “What I personally observed is that tension is growing because of means like this,” Berns said. “It doesn't help at all. We need much more relaxed relations toward each other. The main thing is mutual respect; our foundation wants to help the German population understand that the main basis for the integration of Turkish immigrants is to respect them, their home country, and their culture. If we respect them they will be much more open to integration. I'm very sure about that; this is the philosophy of the foundation.”

© 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr