The culture of remembrance in Germany finds itself at a turning point. The sharing of thoughts and ideas between different communities represents an important pillar in the work for a plural culture of remembrance and a plural society. It is only together that we can try out future-oriented forms of remembrance grounded in solidarity.
Spaces of collaboration are indispensable for working on our society. In the development of a plural culture of remembrance, particular attention must be paid to the networking of communities and people affected by discrimination and human rights violations, by right-wing and antisemitic violence. Shared remembrance represents an opportunity for our democratic, plural society to strengthen appreciation and participation.
The Coalition for Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD) has since 2021 been developing artistic, civil society, and education policy concepts for pluralistic societal remembrance in collaboration with a network consisting of over 200 partners. These efforts include the festival series ‘Memory Matters’. In Neumünster, the festival was carried out in collaboration with the Sinti Union Schleswig-Holstein. Neumünster is an important location for ‘Memory Matters’, as the city bears its own history of excluding minorities, especially the Sinti* community. And it is precisely this community that is now working for a plural culture of remembrance in their city.
Is it even possible to engage in remembrance grounded in solidarity while preserving the unique aspects of community-specific remembrance? What role do memorial initiatives play in this solidarized remembrance work? How can a remembrance practice grounded in solidarity counter societal polarisation? Participants in the festival discussed these questions, with new insights won in the process. These discussions showed that the networking of diverse communities encourages each other in their remembrance work, thus strengthening remembrance as a function of a plural and democratic society.
Max Czollek, CPPD curator, emphasised that the shift to the right in Europe represents a stark challenge to the idea of a post-migrant society as a concept that could serve as a basis for societal cohesion. At the same time, new approaches to remembrance culture could help to develop a robust, plural society. Ibrahim Arslan, a survivor of the attacks in Mölln, highlighted the importance of the structural impulses given by memorial initiatives in the democratisation of the German remembrance landscape. Hanna Veiler, president of the Union of Jewish Students Germany (JSUD), made a plea for more empathy and awareness of solidarity in light of current crises, while Kelly Laubinger, chairwoman of the Sinti Union Schleswig-Holstein, spoke about how affected communities can draw strength from experiences of solidarity. The audience interrupted the panel discussion, moderated by Jo Frank, multiple times with spontaneous rounds of applause.
Spaces for communication will also be needed in the future for the further development of our local cultures of remembrance. The event in Neumünster was a part of the CPPD festival series ‘Memory Matters’, being held in 2024 in four German and two further European cities as a series of events, workshops, artistic positions, and discussions.
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