"Das Wunder von Leipzig": The Paulinum in Leipzig and palimpsestic memories of oppression and revolution

This article aims to explore aspects of oppression and revolution at the Paulinum-Assembly Hall and University Church of St. Paul – a property of Leipzig University. This grandiose church-like building was officially inaugurated on the first weekend in December 2017, as the intellectual and spiritual – geistige und geistliche – centre of the University of Leipzig. This article will consider the palimpsestic characteristics of the Paulinum, particularly in relation to two aspects. The first being that the Paulinum inherited some of the inventory and traditions from its predecessor, the medieval Church of St. Paul, which was destroyed by the GDR leadership in 1968. While the second is that new layers of memories and points of reference that have been added because of the struggle against and the overcoming of socialist oppression during the German reunification. Finally, the building of the Paulinum can also be seen as an attempt to undo some of the ills perpetrated during the GDR era.