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The new wall

A continuation of the conversation about the East

2/19

Thursday | 2/19/2026
7:30 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal
Prices:
15 € 
13 € only at the box office upon presentation of a library card

Ermäßigte Preise:
from €10 for students under 18
from €10 for young people under 30
from €11 for Dresden Pass and SB from GdB 80
8 € for last minute tickets 

About the Concert

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 inflated 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 East-West German border, but also between defenders of democracy and those who - intentionally or carelessly - put it in danger. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk is one of the leading experts on GDR history and has been a critical and astute 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 explore 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 assumptions about and from East Germany. The evening continues the discussions on the peculiarities of the "East" at the Kulturpalast, with Dirk Oschmann being the last guest in February 2024. Organizer: Dresden Philharmonic in cooperation with the Municipal Libraries Dresden.

Program

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk and Bodo Ramelow
"The New Wall - A Conversation about the East" Panel discussion on their joint book

Artists

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
Author
Bodo Ramelow
Author
Cornelius Pollmer
Moderator

Biographies

Bodo Ramelow

Politican

Bodo Ramelow has been Vice-President of the German Bundestag since March 2025. In this role, he is committed to media diversity, the fight against hate and incitement, platform regulation and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

read biography

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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