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Human rights, the fight for democracy and open co-operation were our topics well beyond the end of the month. That’s how we started February.
Julia Machtenberg gave a workshop on 1 February that dealt with the human rights dicourses of Martin Luther King Jr, especially in his „Letter from Birmingham Jail“ . The text was analysed in sections and placed in its historical context. In his letter, King contextualises his imprisonment in a jail cell in Birmingham against the backdrop of his non-violent civil rights activism, with which he campaigned for the end of segregation. He embedded his activism in a far-reaching human rights discourse. The argumentation structure and King’s plea for non-violent activism thus became clear. In the concluding discussion, parallels could be drawn to today’s social situation.
The life story of Martin Luther King Jr., written by Julia Machtenberg, can also be found here in the interactive Fritz Bauer Library.
Surrounded by the books in the Fritz Bauer Library, Reinhold Spratte read selected poems on the subject of „Measures against violence“ on 8 February. From Ulla Hahn to Bertolt Brecht, Erich Fried and Primo Levi, the interested audience approached the topic of resistance together with Reinhold Spratte. This led to exciting discussions, which also centred a lot on the present and how we can oppose violence today. The stimulating evening ended with the words of Hilde Domin: „Trust, this most difficult ABC.“
On 16 February, we welcomed the historian Dr Rahab Njeri. In her lecture, she described the life of Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai, who founded the Green Belt Movement , campaigned for political prisoners and was the first woman from Africa to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. This was followed by a lively discussion about the racist reasons behind why black women and their activism often go unseen and receive little attention, although their work has often paved the way for largely white activist movements. One example of this, according to Dr Njeri, is the climate movement.
One participant at the event summed it up aptly at the end: „We have a lot of work to do, but you have told us what we need to do: Make the invisible visible, listen more and reach out to each other.“
Since the beginning of the year, there have been repeated demonstrations throughout Germany in favour of democratic coexistence and against the AfD’s deportation plans. But one demonstration alone was not enough for the committed people of Bochum. Just a few weeks after the demonstration on 19 January, a large rally was planned in front of the Bochum Mining Museum. On 17 February, there was a lot to see, discover and hear in addition to the initial speech by an anti-fascist from Bochum. Moderated by Sebastian Rabsahl, better known by his stage name Sebastian 23 , various Bochum initiatives campaigning for democracy, human rights and better coexistence presented themselves – including the Fritz Bauer Forum. In addition, musicians from Bochum played their pieces, there were stands with information material and networking talks. Thank you to everyone who made this day possible!
Shortly after the anniversary of the racist attack in Hanau on 19 February 2020, we screened the documentary „Einzeleltäter: Hanau“ by filmmaker Julian Vogel at the Fritz Bauer Library. The event was part of a series in cooperation with Bahnhof Langendreer entitled „4 years after Hanau – No justice without consequences“. The film is the last part of a trilogy dedicated to the victims of right-wing extremist attacks and was awarded the Hessian Film Prize. The director joined us online after the film and talked about the initial idea for the film through to its realisation, the reactions to the film from politicians and the relatives and friends of those murdered. Although the film is called „Einzeleltäter“, the aim was to radically take the perspective of those affected, listen to them and enter into a dialogue with them. The result is an impressive one-and-a-half-hour film that follows the survivors, relatives and friends and lets them have their say.
05 March, 18:30 – 20:00: After the Hamas attack | Lecture and discussion on the current situation in Israel. Further information here.
06 March, 16.00 – 17.30: Wednesday talk about the film „Das Haus in der Auguststraße“. Further information here.
07 March, 18.00 – 19.30: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – the first „feminist“ disarmament treaty? Further information here.
15 March, 18.00 – 19.30: Ofer Waldman | What do we talk about when we talk about Israel? More info here.
19 March, 18.00 – 20.00: „On the Order of the World – Philosophy in Dialogue“ | Reading and discussion. Further information here.
20 March, 17.00 – 18.30: Guided tour of the building site | Fritz Bauer Forum. Further information here.