Race / Racism

Did you know that Angela Davis aquired an almost celebrity status in East Germany and that thousands of young people wrote letters of solidarity to support her release from prison? 

How has the history of Fascism, Holocaust and Antisemitism influenced thinking about race in both states, East and West Germany?

Is there a difference between anti-racist and non-racist societies? Why is “race literacy” important? 

What was the status of race in the socialist world? Was Socialism free of racism?

Why did youth subcultures in East Germany question the antifascist position of the GDR? 

East Germany turned anti-racism into state-policy. What did GDR officials understand under “anti-racism”? 

What country was more anti-racist? East or West Germany? 

Where would East Germans have met POC? What about West German “guest workers?”

Despite their visible presence, foreign guest workers from Cuba, Vietnam, and Mozambique in the GDR were largely isolated and invisible. See if you can spot the only footage of racial difference shot in the GDR within the 415-hour Open Memory Box collection. Where does this footage appear? 

If East Germany (GDR) was racism-free, what accounts for racially motivated violence after 1990?

Dr. Noa K. Ha discusses the controversy around the Humboldforum, one of Europe`s most ambitious cultural projects envisioned to be built on the ruins of the Palace of the Republic, GDR`s former highest seat of power.

Mahdis Azarmandi, PhD, grew up in Germany in the 90ies. What did she learn about Germany's colonial past? And how present is this past in the German public discourse today? 

Decolonization has become a buzz-word in recent times, but what does it mean? Hear decolonial scholar Mahdis Azarmandi's thoughts on the term. 

Mahdis Azarmandi, PhD, discusses how comunities of color have historically tackled racism in Germany and why she is hopeful about the new anti-racist solidarities that are emerging at the present moment.