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6:30 PM-9:30 PM
Culture of remembrance and political debates
Lecture and Discussion |How does the culture of remembrance influence political debate, and how can we return to genuine understanding?
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Vertretung des Freistaates Bayern bei der EU, Brussels
How does the culture of remembrance influence political debates and how can we return to genuine understanding?
This is the central question of the event organised by the Bavarian State Agency for Political Education (BLZ) and the Goethe-Institut Brussels, with the kind support of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union. The occasion and starting point is Grete Weil's novel Der Weg zur Grenze (The Way to the Border), written in exile in Amsterdam in 1944 but not published until 2022.
Following a moderated reading with its discoverer and editor, cultural scientist Ingvild Richardsen, we will discuss with Rupert Grübl, director of the BLZ, and historian Clemens Tangerding the state of German remembrance culture and what can be done to counter the much-cited social divide. There will also be a preview of Tangerding's Rückkehr nach Rottendorf (Return to Rottendorf).
Der Weg zur Grenze is Grete Weil's great novel about everyday life and resistance during the Nazi era. From her hiding place in Amsterdam, she wrote this moving book in 1944 about her escape from Germany in 1936 and a great love that ends fatally. An important work of German literature, made available posthumously for the first time, impressive and moving, intelligent and clear-sighted. (C.H. Beck)
In Rückkehr nach Rottendorf, Clemens Tangerding leads us away from polarisation and back to a place where the ability to come together, even under difficult conditions, is astonishingly alive. (C.H. Beck)
Programme
| 6:00 p.m | Doors open |
| 6:30 p.m | Welcome address Dr Armin Hartmuth, Head of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union Rupert Grübl, Head of the BLZ Dr Julia Sattler, Director of the Goethe-Institut Brussels |
| 6:45 p.m | Reading and discussion with Dr Ingvild Richardsen on ‘Der Weg zur Grenze’ (The Way to the Border) |
| 7:15 p.m. | Discussion with Rupert Grübl and Dr Clemens Tangerding |
| 7:45 p.m | Questions from the audience |
| 8:00 p.m. | Reception |
If you are interested, please register by 16 February 2026.
Your speakers
Clemens Tangerding is a freelance historian and project manager in historical and political education. He comes from Rottendorf, was an altar boy and, at the age of 16, as leader of a Catholic youth group, sold his ‘Bodycount’ CD to one of the children in his group because he urgently needed money for tobacco. He attended journalism school and earned a doctorate in history in Dresden and Paris. To finance his studies, he worked at a petrol station, in the choir of the Würzburg City Theatre and as Santa Claus in a supermarket in Kitzingen. For almost 15 years, he worked as a historian researching the history of companies. Then he began talking to people in rural areas about the history of their towns as part of several projects. In 2019, he moved with his family from Berlin to Luckenwalde in Brandenburg. He bought a plunge saw, a hand-held circular saw and a table saw to help him integrate more quickly.
Literary and cultural scholar, author and exhibition curator Dr Ingvild Richardsen studied in Würzburg, Siena, Bonn and Munich. Since completing her doctorate at LMU Munich (2000), she has worked as a researcher, lecturer and author for universities, film and television both nationally and internationally. She researches and publishes on European cultural history and memory culture, women's movements, Jewish history, Jewish heritage, the Nazi era and modern art movements such as Art Nouveau and international contexts. In 2020, she received the Media Award from the Zonta Club Fünf-Seen-Land and the Mobility Research Award from Meiji University Tokyo, with which she collaborates closely on academic projects (publications, lectures, conferences). She lives in Munich and works as a researcher at the University of Augsburg, where she conducts pilot projects and research projects.
Since 1955, the Bavarian State Agency for Political Education (BLZ) has been promoting political education and democratic values. Rupert Grübl has been its director since 2019. The secondary school teacher (subjects: English, history and social studies) was, among other things, a subject supervisor for social studies and ethics, a member of the commission responsible for setting the A-level exams for the advanced course in social studies, and a member of the school management team. From 2015 to 2019, he was headmaster of the Fürstenried grammar school. According to the then Minister of Education, Bernd Sibler, Grübl was an ‘enthusiastic communicator of history and political education’ who successfully combined theory and practice.
Location
Rue Wiertz - Wiertzstraat 77
1000 Brussels
Belgium
