The author and philosopher Henry David Thoreau (12 July 1817 - 6 May 1862) of Concord, Massachusetts (U.S.A.) refused the payment of taxes as his testimony and civil disobedience against war and slavery: the theme of his essay on “Civil Disobedience”: “Resistance to Civil Government”, Boston 1849. Then, Thoreau lived in a log cabin at Walden Pond and later described his experiences in the book
“Walden; or: Life in the Woods”, Boston 1854.
Thoreau studied at Harvard University; in his life time he was a teacher, lecturer, surveyor, gardener, pencil factory owner, author of essays, poems and a comprehensive diary: “The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861” — a quote from the opening paragraphs: “The Germans say, ‚es ist alles wahr wodurch du besser wirst‘ [Everything is true through which you become better]” ...
This exhibition was presented on the occasion of the Thoreau Bicentennial in the Peace Gallery at the Berlin Anti-War Museum from November 9, 2017 until January 26, 2018.
Entrance to the exhibition