Forum Opposition

After peace prayers in seven churches, about 200,000 gathered for the traditional Monday demonstration in Leipzig on Nov. 27, 1989. © Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1989-1127-033 / Friedrich Gahlbeck / CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Feasibility Study on the "Forum for Opposition and Resistance"

Facts & Files was commissioned by the Robert Havemann Association in 2021 with a concept for a feasibility study for the “Forum for Opposition and Resistance”.

Together with the Robert Havemann Association and a team from the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History Research in Potsdam, Facts & Files was developing the concept for the establishment of a center on the history of opposition and resistance in the GDR as part of a feasibility study. The planned forum is to be established as a place of remembrance, learning, research, and encounter, and thus provide space for an archive, exhibitions, events and educational offerings.
The concept, including content planning for the exhibition, defines target groups, educational goals and thematic priorities that focus on actions and initiatives by the opposition and resistance against the SED dictatorship, the nuclear arms race, massive environmental pollution and for democracy in the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR.
In addition to the development of educational goals and a concept for the permanent exhibition, the project team developed ideas for temporary exhibitions, event formats and is responsible for object research. Recommendations for integrating the archive of the Robert Havemann Association into the forum and for setting up a library were also developed.
The project results were presented in a final paper, which was presented to the public and the decision-making bodies by the Robert Havemann Association in September 2022.

Media Information September 2, 2022

The Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft e. V. presents its feasibility study for a Forum Opposition and Resistance (1945 – 1990), which it prepared on behalf of the German Bundestag.

The Forum Opposition and Resistance aims to inform and educate, to honor civil society’s commitment to freedom rights and democracy in the past and present, and to raise awareness of current social challenges. The main focus is on the multifaceted history of opposition to the regime in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR and their cross-border interconnections.

Contact

Frank Drauschke
Frank Drauschke
FACTS & FILES
P: +49 (0)30 / 480 986 20
drauschke@factsandfiles.com