We Against Silencing

We against silencing - We need to talk about money, shame and power.
What social or financial position we have in a society is not only determined by how much money we have. Our status or the financial or social circumstances in which we grew up, i.e. our social background, also plays a role and determines what opportunities, possibilities and access to social participation we have and which of us are affected by classism:
Francis Seeck (2024) describes "classism as discrimination based on social background or social status, which primarily affects people from the working or poverty class, including unemployed, poverty-stricken and homeless people."
The event series sheds light on the historical development of classism and looks at how classism works in the present from an intersectional perspective: How do education and access to (financial) resources affect people's opportunities today? To what extent are social thought patterns shaped by classism and how can an attitude critical of classism make these visible or even dissolve them? What paths are there to a more socially just, anti-classist society and how can moments of solidarity and shared knowledge of experiences support this? are questions that this series of events will address.
 
25.3.2025, 18:30, Veranstaltungssaal, admission free
Lecture & Talk: "Die Nazis nannten sie "Asoziale" und "Berufsverbrecher" mit Frank Nonnenmacher
moderated by Daniel Gollmann & Laura Igelbrink
Many people today know about the Jewish and political victims of National Socialism, possibly also about the Nazi persecution of queer people as well as Sinti:zze and Romn:ja. However, the persecution of those whom the Nazis considered to be "genetically depraved" and therefore "to be eradicated", "asocials" and "professional criminals", and who were therefore locked up in concentration camps as prisoners with the green or black triangle, a triangle of fabric on the left side of the chest of the striped prisoner's uniform, is largely unknown.
In this lecture, Nonnenmacher not only vividly describes the historical and political background and the persecution of these people under National Socialism, but also explains why they were excluded from any moral and legal recognition in the Federal Republic of Germany for decades, for which Nonnenmacher is still campaigning today.
Frank Nonnenmacher is Professor Emeritus of Didactics of Political Education at the University of Frankfurt am Main and a descendant of a concentration camp prisoner with the green corner.  He is also  1st Chairman of the association "vevon - Association for the Remembrance of the Denied Victims of National Socialism", founded in 2023.
Admission from 6:15 pm 
Book table by Buchhandlung zur Heide
Photo: Kamran Salimini
 
 
6.5.2025, 18:30, Veranstaltungssaal, admission free
Reading & Talk: "Vom Tellerwäscher zum Tellerwäscher " with Ciani-Sophia Hoeder
moderated by Laura Igelbrink
When Ciani-Sophia Hoeder was 14 years old, she went to the Berlin food bank with her mother for the first time. She didn't tell anyone about it and was ashamed that her family was poor - because poverty is a dirty word, a symbol of personal failure. It was only later that she realized that it was actually a structural problem and that social advancement in Germany is nowhere near as easy as is often suggested.
In "From dishwasher to dishwasher", Hoeder sheds light on the intersections of money, shame and power and shows how class mixes with other forms of discrimination. She talks to experts, activists, rich and poor people and shows how a lack of equal opportunities characterizes this country - and how we can change that.
Ciani-Sophia Hoeder studied politics and journalism in Berlin and London. She is a freelance journalist, SZ-Magazin columnist and founder and former managing director of "RosaMag", the first online lifestyle magazine for Black women in Germany. After her book "Wut und Böse" in 2021, Hoeder published "Vom Tellerwäscher zum Tellerwäscher" in 2024.
Admission from 6:15 pm 
Book table from the bookstore zur Heide
Photo: Megan-Vada Hoeder
 
15.7.2025 18:30, Museumsgarten, admission free
Performative reading & talk: "Working Class Daughters - Talking about Class." with Kristina Dreit & Karolina Dreit
moderated by Laura Igelbrink
"It all started with a conversation in the kitchen. [...] The more we questioned our own class history, the more friends we thought of with whom it was similar " (Karolina Dreit & Kristina Dreit: 2024).

"Working Class Daughters" brings together conversations about class, gender, queerness, work, migration, resistance and care. The book is based on interviews that Karolina and Kristina Dreit conducted using a questionnaire and initially processed in performances and installations.

It asserts a reality in which talking about class is not borne by shame and isolation, but creates connections. The conversations are accompanied by visual inscriptions by the artist Selina Lampe.

Karolina Dreit is a worker's daughter and post-East migrant, she studied sociology, among other things, and after many (re)paths she works as a cultural worker, artist and teacher. She is interested in labor struggles, undogmatic perspectives on class and unifying political practices.
Kristina Dreit is an artist and dramaturge. Her work moves between performance, installation and film. She is currently interested in the history of materials and the links between body, class and gender, using steel as an example.
Admission from 6:15 pm
In case of bad weather in the event hall
Book table by Buchhandlung zur Heide
Photo:  Will be delivered later
 
Tuesday, 9.12.2025, 6:30 pm, event hall, admission free
Lecture & Talk: "Klassismus. The forgotten form of discrimination. " with Francis Seeck
moderated by Laura Igelbrink
"Classism is often overlooked as a form of social oppression - yet it is highly topical in the face of rising poverty rates, overcrowded food banks and a lack of affordable housing" (Seeck: 2024).
In the final lecture, Seeck will first discuss the critique of classism as an attitude, taking intersectional perspectives into account. Specific examples will show how anti-classist approaches are already being practiced in groups and movements. The aim of the lecture is to show practical ways of overcoming classism and shaping a socially just society.
Francis Seeck is a professor of social work with a focus on democracy and human rights education (TH Nuremberg), anti-discrimination trainer and author.
Admission from 18:15 
Book table by Buchhandlung zur Heide
Photo: Lotte Ostermann
 

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