Nachhall eines Bruchs — Ost-West-Verhältnis als offene Wunde

Hoffnungswerkstatt: Echoes of a Rupture – East-West Relations as an Open Wound

A shift to the right in eastern Germany - is it a consequence of neglect following reunification that’s led to a loss of political agency as well as intergenerational experience of grievance? Journalist and author Georg Diez pursues this observation in his new book, “Tipping Points: From the Promises of the Nineties to the Crises of the Present”. He questions why sections of the population are particularly susceptible to authoritarian ideologies. At what point could history have taken a different course, where are the tipping points? And what is needed today to prevent missed historical opportunities being repeated so that the relationship between East and West can reach a common understanding?

Thuringia-born director Luisa Bäde and choreographer and activist Ming Poon, who lives in rural Saxony-Anhalt, are exploring artistic paths: Luisa Bäde and artists with an eastern German perspective are initiating processes through the “Nachwendekinder” (post-reunification children) network and their performance “OSTBEGEGNUNGEN – Nachwendekinder alive and kicking” in order to come to terms with the post-reunification era. Ming Poon, meanwhile, brings artists with Asian backgrounds together with villagers to participate in art projects at his farm in Bräsen/Coswig.

Together with Georg Diez, the two discuss how new forms of solidarity can emerge from the open fractures of reunification. The Hoffnungswerkstatt at the FWT is part of the Focus on: Tipping Points – a series of discussions on the major tipping points of our time – from climate change and AI to the world order. The programme is accompanied by three editions of Hoffnungswerkstatt, in which hope is explored as a political as well as a self-empowering tool. The second edition will take place as part of the Impulse programme.

A conversation with Georg Diez, Luisa Bäde, and Ming Poon. Curated by Dandan Liu (FWT).