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Die Schnabels – Mother, Father, 17 Children

Name: Die Schnabels – Mother, Father, 17 Children
Start: 2026-10-15T19:30:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-15T23:59:00+02:00
Location: An der Urania 17, 10787 Berlin, Germany

An der Urania 17, 10787 Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Thu, October 15, 2026 (7:30 pm - 11:59 pm)

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Description

The fascinating story of an exceptional family – a story of solidarity and sacrifice. The author and ZEIT editor Katrin Hörnlein talks with Maleika Grün, the 13th child of the Schnabel family, about the challenging everyday life in one of Germany's most child-rich families: how nearly 20 people were accommodated in a few square meters, what quantities had to be purchased, and how the children were involved in caregiving and upbringing. At the same time, many aspects were quite typical of West German family life from the 1950s to the 1980s: that the father earned the money and the mother was a housewife, that the children roamed around unsupervised, or that the mother increasingly tried to emancipate herself. Rudi Novotny (Die ZEIT) moderates the discussion about a special piece of family history of the old Federal Republic. Katrin Hörnlein is responsible for children's and youth literature and the ZEIT Children's and Youth Book Prize as an editor at the weekly newspaper 'Die ZEIT'. In 2023, she published her non-fiction book 'Eine wie sie fehlt in dieser Zeit. Erinnerungen an Astrid Lindgren'. Katrin Hörnlein lives with her family in Hamburg. Maleika Grün, née Schnabel, is the 13th of 17 children of the large Schnabel family from North Rhine-Westphalia. She works as a consultant at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and volunteers, among other things, as a sports coach for people with disabilities. Rudi Novotny, co-head of the education department at the weekly newspaper 'Die ZEIT'., Bachelor in International Relations and Politics at Essex, Master at the Hertie School of Governance. He came to ZEIT through the magazine of the Frankfurter Rundschau and the third page of the Berliner Zeitung in 2014. Among other awards, he received the Egon Erwin Kisch Prize.

Highlights

Conversation with Katrin Hörnlein and Maleika Grün
Insight into the life of one of Germany's most child-rich families
Moderation by Rudi Novotny

General Information

The event takes place at Urania Berlin and explores the history of the Schnabel family with 17 children. Katrin Hörnlein and Maleika Grün discuss everyday life and challenges in a large family as well as societal changes over the past decades.