Lived solidarity becomes official: on May 22, 2025, the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district will sign a memorandum at City Hall to establish a new city partnership with the Ukrainian district of Kyiv-Darnytsia. Be an Angel e.V., a Kreuzberg-based organization deeply engaged in Ukraine, will play a key role as a civil society partner, helping to shape and accompany this partnership over the long term. Immediately following the signing, the association’s own restaurant, Kreuzberger Himmel, will host the opening of a photographic exhibition by award-winning photographer Johanna-Maria Fritz, featuring images captured in Darnytsia during the war.
Be an Angel e.V. has been committed to supporting refugees and marginalized groups since 2015 and has established itself as a recognized humanitarian actor with its own office in Kyiv, longstanding work in Odesa, and a wide network across Ukraine. In Berlin, the association also runs Kreuzberger Himmel – a restaurant that serves as a meeting place, run by people with refugee backgrounds, and functioning as a cultural hub for civic engagement.
The partnership between Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Kyiv-Darnytsia was initially founded in 2022 as an expression of solidarity and was officially formalized as a city partnership following a district council resolution on March 26, 2025. In the accompanying political declaration, Be an Angel e.V. is explicitly named as an active partner. The organization brings not only years of experience in Ukraine but also sees itself as a bridge between the people of both districts – through concrete projects in the fields of education, culture, youth, and humanitarian aid.
The first project of this new partnership is the exhibition “Darnytsia” at Kreuzberger Himmel. OSTKREUZ photographer Johanna-Maria Fritz spent the summer of 2024 in Kyiv-Darnytsia, where she powerfully documented the lives of people living amid the war. Her images capture resilience, hope, and the efforts to maintain everyday life under extraordinary circumstances. The exhibition was previously shown to great acclaim at the AFF Galerie Berlin.
By presenting it at Kreuzberger Himmel, the exhibition is brought to a place where integration, exchange, and cultural diversity are lived every day.
In the coming months, the new city partnership will be deepened through additional initiatives. Planned projects include exchange programs for children and youth, cultural encounters, and psychosocial support for refugees. A joint project with the Malteser organization is already in preparation and will be announced soon.
The event for the signing of the memorandum and the exhibition opening is open to the press.
For inquiries:
Be an Angel e.V., Yorckstraße 4-11, 10965 Berlin
Press contact:
Franziska Klün, franziska.k@be-an-angel.org, mobile +49 176 61487846
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