Education through Work at the Human Rights Center Cottbus: Making GDR Injustice Visible
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When a label determined a life
The traveling exhibition Education through Work. Asocials as Enemies of the State in the GDR makes a long-suppressed chapter of GDR history visible at the Human Rights Center Cottbus. It focuses on individuals who were allegedly stigmatized, excluded, disciplined, and criminalized under Paragraph 249 of the GDR Penal Code as asocial.
Fourteen biographies against forgetting
Through fourteen individual life stories, the exhibition shows the differing paths to state persecution. Those affected were individuals without regular employment, people with unconventional lifestyles, prostitutes, punks, and applicants for exit permits, as well as people with politically undesirable views. Photographs, documents, and film footage restore the names and life stories of the affected individuals.
The so-called Asocial Paragraph 249
The exhibition examines the politically and ideologically motivated application of Paragraph 249. A broadly defined notion of so-called asocial behavior allowed for the criminal prosecution of perceived work-shyness, divergent lifestyles, or political nonconformity. Between 1968 and 1989, approximately 130,000 people were convicted under this paragraph, according to estimates.
Exhibition atmosphere and historical work reflection
The presentation combines factual documentation with powerful personal testimonies. Texts, images, and source materials navigate through the mechanisms of state normalization and highlight how language, authorities, and justice decided on societal belonging. The aesthetic experience of this historical exhibition arises not from decorative staging but through concentrated engagement with documents, faces, and biographies.
Cultural education at the Human Rights Center
As the third station of the traveling exhibition, the Human Rights Center Cottbus connects historical reflection with political education. The curation by exhibeo e.V. in cooperation with the Union of Victim Associations of Communist Tyranny e.V. and other reflection institutions opens up a differentiated approach to GDR injustices, memorial culture, and human rights. The former penitentiary in Cottbus serves as a particularly profound historical resonance space.
Conclusion: Experiencing history directly
Visitors can expect a serious, educational, and impactful artistic experience that bridges documentation, memory, and historical analysis. The exhibition invites recognition of the mechanisms of exclusion and places the dignity of those affected once again in the spotlight. A visit to the Human Rights Center Cottbus enriches the aesthetic experience as much as cultural and political education.
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