On Saturday, 24 January at 2 pm and Tuesday, 27 January at 7 pm, the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre invites interested parties to two events in the "Stempel" & "Kissen" series, which focus on the treatment of dissidents in the GDR from a personal and historical perspective.
The artist and writer Joerg Waehner is organising a tour through Chemnitz city centre on Saturday, 24 January at 2 pm under the title "Reenacting after reenactment". The tour leads to historical sites of Stasi surveillance and contemporary events in Karl-Marx-Stadt. Using selected stations, Joerg Waehner links the observation practices of the time with today's forms of visibility, control and public space. Looking at the past and present, the tour invites visitors to engage in an intensive dialogue.
Participation is free of charge. Registration is recommended by telephone on 0371 488-4343 or online via the event link.
On Tuesday, 27 January, from 7 p.m., historian PD Dr Anke Silomon will examine the history of the construction soldiers in the GDR. Research into dissidents enables a deeper understanding of the limited scope for action and the behaviour of individuals and groups in a dictatorship. The construction soldiers who refused to serve with a weapon in the National People's Army (NVA) and who were deployed in their compulsory service to build military facilities, among other things, paid a high price for their refusal. Many of them were only called up at the last possible moment, at the age of almost 25. They often already had a job and a family. Some of them were unable to continue their studies or return to their jobs. On this evening, the consequences of their refusal to comply with the system will be discussed.
Participation is free of charge. Registration is recommended by telephone on 0371 488-4343 or via the link to the event.
Background information:
With "Stamps" & "Pillows", a series of events will start on 15 January that brings together artistic works, personal memories and historical documents to open up new perspectives on surveillance, contradiction and everyday life in the GDR. The interplay of art, contemporary history and individual experience creates a space for reflection on forms of control, self-assertion and social change - then and now.
An overview of all events can be found under this link.
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