Benjamin at the Border

Walter Benjamin took his life in 1940 in Port Bou while fleeing the Nazis. A visit to the town inspires reflection not so much on Benjamin's death but on the symbolic significance of the border not crossed, particularly as experienced in the installation Passages by Dani Karavan. Benjamin's ideas on history and exile are contrasted with personal experiences of illegal border crossings, with broader implications for European identity. His fears are questioned: borders have lost many functions, and new identities form within the fluidity of cultural interfaces. There is no reason to repeat historical pessimism.