Traveling Exhibition Education through Work in Cottbus: Understanding GDR Injustice
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
A Distressing Chapter of GDR History in Focus
The traveling exhibition Education through Work. “Asocial” as Enemies of the State in the GDR opens in Cottbus, providing a precise and compelling look at the mechanisms of state exclusion. At the Human Rights Center Cottbus, in a historically charged place of remembrance, visitors encounter documents, photographs, and witness accounts that make visible a suppressed injustice.
How a State Declared People as Enemies
The exhibition shows how in the GDR the label “asocial” not only meant social devaluation but could also form the basis for discipline, criminalization, and imprisonment. Central to the exhibition are fourteen portraits that trace different life paths and the effects of Paragraph 249. This creates a unique artistic experience: not an aesthetic exhibition in the classical sense, but a historical examination of political memory, supported by images, texts, and cinematic testimonies.
Documents, Photos, and Films as Means of Enlightenment
Particularly impressive is the combination of historical footage, interviews with witnesses, as well as archived photographs and documents. This form of curation creates space for cultural education and critical engagement with propaganda, prison conditions, and the long shadows of an ideology that sanctioned deviation. The predecessors of Paragraph 249 in the German Empire, National Socialism, and early GDR are also contextualized, as well as parallels to the ČSSR and the Soviet Union.
A Place That Makes Remembrance Tangible
The Human Rights Center Cottbus e. V. – Memorial Zuchthaus Cottbus is itself part of the historical experience. The exhibition atmosphere at this location enhances the aesthetic experience in the broadest sense: light, space, and historical significance coalesce into a silent yet lasting visit. The presentation is complemented by opening contributions from representatives from politics, historical reappraisal, and science, as well as a conversation with a witness and a curator.
Education, Reappraisal, and Social Relevance
The exhibition is directed not only at history enthusiasts but also at anyone interested in human rights, political persecution, and culture of remembrance. It invites visitors to critically question terms, attributions, and state power. This is precisely where its strength lies: it connects historical research with public education and makes visible how quickly social exclusion can turn into systematic injustice.
Conclusion: This traveling exhibition offers an impressive, enlightening, and emotionally demanding artistic experience with high social relevance. Anyone interested in GDR history, memorial culture, and political education should not miss this event in Cottbus and should definitely experience the exhibition on-site.
Official Channels of Human Rights Center Cottbus e.V.:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: https://www.menschenrechtszentrum-cottbus.de
