Discussion event on October 25 at the PFL Cultural Center
City presents expert opinion on Edith Ruß to the public
Event hall of the cultural center PFL (Peterstraße 3). Admission free. Reservations are not required.
The role of the person who gave her name to the Edith Russ House for Media Art during the Nazi era has been scientifically investigated. The report will be presented and publicly discussed on Friday, October 25, at the PFL cultural center.
The scientific investigation into the work of Edith Russ during the National Socialist era and her behavior after 1945 has been available since around the end of September. The city of Oldenburg commissioned this scientific report after allegations against the namesake and founder of the Edith Russ House for Media Art, who died in 1993, became public at the beginning of this year. Historian Dr. Mareike Witkowski and her colleague Dr. Joachim Tautz prove in their investigation that Edith Russ had been a member of the NSDAP since 1 January 1941 and had written numerous articles as a journalist in the Nazi press in which nationalist ideas can be found. Edith Russ had always denied her membership of the NSDAP. The city administration will present the report at a public discussion event on Friday, October 25.
By way of introduction, Dr. Mareike Witkowski will explain the academic investigation and the co-director of the Edith Russ House for Media Art, Marcel Schwierin, will provide information on the regional, national and international reactions to the local debate. This will be followed by a discussion on the role of Edith Russ in National Socialism and a possible renaming of the Edith Russ House for Media Art. Prof. Dr. Stefan Müller-Doohm will moderate the event. The city administration invites all interested citizens to participate.
In a press release on September 25, Lord Mayor Jürgen Krogmann has already spoken out in favor of renaming the Edith Russ House for Media Art: “In my view, it is no longer acceptable for a municipal cultural institution to use the name Edith Russ in its title.” The team at the Edith Russ House also “emphatically” supports a name change.
You can find more information about Edith Russ and the history of the Edith Russ House here. The full report can be downloaded here.