On|Outlooks 05/2024

In May, we took part in the 2nd Bochum Bike Scavenger Hunt, which aimed to raise awareness of the various citizens‘ initiatives in Bochum and introduce the protagonists. We spoke to journalist and author Nora Hespers about her grandfather and the resistance against National Socialism. Together with the educational organisation Stanisław Hantz e.V., we organised an educational trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp memorial. We spoke with Jamie Raskin (Democratic Party), a member of the US House of Representatives, about the impeachment proceedings against Donal Trump and the dangers for American democracy. And then we also celebrated our topping-out ceremony and on this special day the Bochum Symphony Orchestra played in the Fritz Bauer Library.

The Fritz Bauer Forum also took part in the second edition of the bike scavenger hunt, initiated by bo-initiativ. Although there was less sunshine than last year, many interested people came again and we were able to talk to them.

In addition to our information programme, there was also a painting station for children and the Fritz Bauer Library hosted the audio installation „W.“ by artist Ute Jürß, which posed questions on the topic of human dignity. Various photos of the historic mourning hall and its development into the Fritz Bauer Library were shown on the screen. At the end of the event in the KoFabrik, there was a raffle to win a voucher for our book shop.

Together with the public library, we were able to invite the author and freelance journalist Nora Hespers to the Fritz Bauer Library at the beginning of May as part of the Democracy Literature Days. She presented her book „Mein Opa, sein Widerstand gegen die Nazis und ich“, published by Suhrkamp Verlag in 2021, which tells the story of Theo Hespers, a resistance fighter against the Nazi regime, and his persecution and murder by the National Socialists in Berlin-Plötzensee. But it also deals with the after-effects of the past in the present, with Nora Hespers‘ personal search for traces. A lively discussion centred on how we remember the resistance against the Nazi regime and why so many stories – often those of women in particular – have been forgotten. In view of the current rise of right-wing forces, it is all the more important to remember the examples of courageous action in favour of human rights and democracy.

The Bildungswerk Stanisław Hantz e.V. has been organising regular educational trips on the subject of National Socialism and the Holocaust for many decades. This year saw the first cooperation between the educational organisation and the Fritz Bauer Forum, with Magdalena Köhler, research assistant at the Fritz Bauer Forum, accompanying and co-leading the trip.

Over the course of four days, an „approach to Auschwitz“ was attempted, which largely involved visiting the areas around the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp that are not part of the state museum and the official culture of remembrance. These include, for example, the area of the former Auschwitz-Monowitz camp, the village of Rajsko, where the National Socialists carried out plant breeding and agricultural experiments, and a former factory site that played an important role in the resistance movements in Auschwitz. A group of 25 people were thus able to gain an insight into the „murder machinery“ of Auschwitz (quote from Fritz Bauer).

The weather was kind to us when the craftsmen, architects, invited guests and interested visitors gathered on the construction site on 24 May for the topping-out ceremony for the main building of the Fritz Bauer Forum. Under grey but dry skies, the carpenters from Schrinner and Managing Director Irmtrud Wojak climbed „onto the roof“ or rather the scaffolding on the completed roof truss to ring in the traditional topping-out ceremony.

After Irmtrud Wojak had successfully hammered the last nail into the roof truss, the topping-out speech was spoken and the glass smashed on the ground to seal the good fortune for the completion of the building, short speeches were given by Karl-Peter Brendel (Chairman of the NRW Foundation, former State Secretary); Serdar Yüksel (Member of the NRW State Parliament) and Irmtrud Wojak.

The next event followed in the evening, a concert by the Bochum Symphony Orchestra as part of the „District Concerts“ series (BoSy vor Ort). The audience in the completely full Fritz Bauer Library listened eagerly and enthusiastically to various pieces by Mozart, Scarlatti, von Koch, Barriére and Szymanowski.

This wonderful evening ended with conversations with the musicians and drinks – we hope to see you again!

Roland Vossebrecker from the Stanisław Hantz e.V. association was a guest at the Fritz Bauer Library on 28 May 2024 and spoke about the uprising of the Jewish Sonderkommando in Auschwitz-Birkenau on 7 October 1944. He shed light on the circumstances and causes that led to this uprising. In particular, he allowed the men involved in the uprising, Salmen Leventhal and Salmen Grabowski, to have their say. Fuelled by these two stories and a wealth of quotes, the lecture impressively illustrated the historical significance of the uprising.

The subsequent discussion centred on the question of why this courageous, desperate act of resistance has become so little known and is hardly remembered. We hope all the more that the difference these people made in Auschwitz by preserving humanity under extreme conditions will become better known in the future. The recording of the event will soon be available on our YouTube channel .

On 31 May 2024, we were able to speak to Jamie Raskin , Democratic Party member of the US Congress, via livestream directly from Washington, D.C. One day after the guilty verdict against former US President Donald Trump, Jamie Raskin, constitutional lawyer and prosecutor in the second impeachment trial against Donald Trump, told us about his personal experiences in Congress on the day of Trump’s attempted coup. In a lecture and subsequent discussion with Prof. Dr Pierre Thielbörger (Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, Ruhr University Bochum), moderated by Viktoria Harbecke (AmerikaHaus NRW e.V.), the lawyers spoke about the threat to democracy posed by far-right forces, the possibilities for the rule of law to counter this and the guilty verdict against Donald Trump.

Afterwards, Rep. Raskin was able to answer some questions from the audience on site and online. You can read Jamie Raskin’s personal story in his book The Unthinkable. Trauma, Facts and the Pitfalls of American Democracy , which can be purchased here .

Click here for a video interview that Dr Irmtrud Wojak conducted with Jamie Raskin in Washington in 2023, when he was still battling cancer.

04 June, 18:00 – 19:30: The red lines of freedom of expression | Lecture, talk and performance. Further information here .

09 June, 12.00 – 15.00: Solidarity with Chile – Matinee. Further information here .

11 June, 18.00 – 19.30: Forgotten Fates | Book presentation and discussion. Further information here .

12 June, 18.00 – 20.00: „Having courage and standing firm: Measures against violence“ | Reading and talk. Further information here .

20 June, 18.00 – 19.30: „Between magic and practice. Building transcultural gardens“ | Lecture and talk with Anuscheh Amir-Khalili. Further information here .

21 June, 17.00 – 19.00: Dr David Berchem | Antisemitism in football. Further information here .

27 June, 8.30 – 15.00: What do Fritz Bauer, the Auschwitz trial and discrimination in football have in common? | Anti-Semitism-critical workshop. Further information here .

27 June, 5.00 – 6.30 pm: Book club in the Fritz Bauer Library. Further information here .