Book launch | Architecture as a Witness

The inspiration for the book was a road sign bearing the words ‘Villa Baviera’, which made it clear to the author, Nora Kersting: “The story of the film ‚Colonia Dignidad‘ – which I couldn’t believe was based on true events – was set in the very country where I found myself. During my subsequent research, I discovered that there is no public memorial site and that the site is largely used as a tourist complex. This discrepancy formed the starting point.”

Nora Kersting engaged intensively with Chilean history, particularly the military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet. In doing so, the differences between Chilean and German cultures of remembrance became clear to her. The Chilean approach is less institutionalised and relies less on traditional museum practices; it is contested and fragmented.

Remembrance is closely linked to current political and social conflicts. Chile is thus part of a global context in which authoritarian and history-revisionist tendencies are gaining ground. Whilst President Boric’s previous government achieved some successes in the field of remembrance, President José Antonio Kast, elected in March 2026, holds revisionist views on history. His success demonstrates just how fragile the ‘Nunca más’ motto is when the memory of the past comes under pressure. In this tense climate, coming to terms with the past has become a race against time. As eyewitnesses grow older, architecture is coming to the fore as a permanent witness.

Doors open at 5.30 pm

Welcome: Dr. habil. Irmtrud Wojak
Opening remarks: Bodo Ramelow
Keynote: Nora Kersting MA
Discussion: Prof. Dr Jens-Christian Wagner (joining online), Bodo Ramelow, Nora Kersting MA, TBC (Chile)

Moderator: Dr habil. Irmtrud Wojak

Nora Kersting, MA, grew up in Bochum, studied in Münster and Lisbon, and first became acquainted with Latin America whilst still at school. In 2023/24, she completed her Master’s degree at the Universidad Pontificia Católica in Santiago de Chile. She now lives in Berlin and works in an architectural practice.

Bodo Ramelow has been politically active in eastern Germany since 1990 and was previously a trade union secretary in Central Hesse. From 2014 to 2024, he was Minister-President of Thuringia, and since March 2025 he has been Vice-President of the German Bundestag.

Jens-Christian Wagner studied history and Romance philology in Göttingen and Santiago, Chile. After completing his PhD at the University of Göttingen, he headed the Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp Memorial (Nordhausen) from 2001 to 2014, and subsequently the Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation and the Bergen-Belsen Memorial. Since 2020, he has been Director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation and holds the Chair of History in the Media and Public Sphere at the University of Jena. Main areas of research: the history of National Socialism and its consequences (in particular concentration camps and forced labour), cultures of remembrance after 1945, and historical revisionism.

The book will be published on September 1st 2026 and can be purchased here or at the event itself.

An event organised by the Fritz Bauer Forum.