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Lesung, Gespräch und Musik

The new wall

A continuation of the conversation about the East

2/19

Thursday | 2/19/2026
1:30 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal
Tickets from:  15 € 13 € with library idenity card Reduced prices:
from € 10 for pupils under 18 
from €10 for young people under 30
from 11 € for Dresden-Pass and SB from GdB 80
8 € for last minute 
 

2/19

Thursday | 2/19/2026
7:30 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal
Tickets from:  15 € 13 € with library idenity card Reduced prices:
from € 10 for pupils under 18 
from €10 for young people under 30
from 11 € for Dresden-Pass and SB from GdB 80
8 € for last minute 
 

About the Event

Much of what went wrong in the East after 1990 can be explained by omissions and mistakes in the unification process. Other issues stem from exaggerated expectations and a misunderstanding of freedom. This has created a toxic atmosphere that is affecting larger parts of the population - not only in the East, but also in the West. Because the "new wall" does not only run along the former German-German border, but also between the defenders of democracy and those who - intentionally or recklessly - put it in danger. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk is one of the best connoisseurs of GDR history and has been a critical and wise observer of the unification process for many years, as evidenced by the huge success of his book "Freedom Shock" (2025). The FAZ called him the "punk among German historians". Bodo Ramelow has been politically active in East Germany since 1990 and was Minister President in Thuringia from 2014 to 2024. The two have come together to investigate the causes of the widespread electoral success of the AfD in the new federal states and to inquire about the perspectives for our democracy. With their theses, the authors of the book "The New Wall" provoke, while also providing numerous arguments for and against common claims about and from East Germany. The evening continues the discussions about the peculiarities of the "East" at the Kulturpalast, with Dirk Oschmann being the last guest in February 2024.

Artists

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
Bodo Ramelow
Cornelius Pollmer
Presenter

Biographies

Cornelius Pollmer

Presenter/Journalist

Cornelius Pollmer was born in Dresden in 1984. He studied economics and worked for the youth magazine Spiesser and the Sächsische Zeitung. After training at the German School of Journalism, he went to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, for which he now writes mainly in the feature section.

read biography

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