Buchvorstellung | Architektur als Zeugin

Book Presentation & Discussion

With Nora Kersting, Bodo Ramelow, and Jens-Christian Wagner

The inspiration for the book was a street sign reading “Villa Baviera,” which made it clear to author Nora Kersting: “The story of the film *Colonia Dignidad*, which I couldn’t believe was based on true events, took place in the very country where I was. During my subsequent research, I discovered that there is no public memorial site and that the grounds are largely used as a tourist complex. This discrepancy served as the starting point.”

Nora Kersting engaged intensively with Chilean history, particularly the military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet. In the process, the differences between Chilean and German cultures of remembrance became clear to her. The Chilean culture of remembrance is less institutionalized and relies less on traditional museum practices; it is contested and fragmented.

Remembrance is closely linked to current political and social conflicts. Chile is thus part of a global context in which authoritarian and history-revisionist tendencies are gaining influence. While the previous government under President Boric achieved some successes in remembrance work, President José Antonio Kast—elected in March 2026—advocates historical revisionist positions. His success demonstrates how fragile the “Nunca más” motto is when the memory of the past comes under pressure. In this tense climate, coming to terms with the past has become a race against time. As eyewitnesses grow older, architecture is coming into focus as a permanent witness.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Opening Remarks: Dr. habil. Irmtrud Wojak (Director of the Fritz Bauer Forum)
Opening Remarks: Bodo Ramelow (Vice President of the German Bundestag)
Keynote: Nora Kersting, M.A. (author)
Commentary: Prof. Dr. Jens-Christian Wagner (Director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation / joining online)

Followed by a discussion
Moderator: Irmtrud Wojak

Nora Kersting, M.A., grew up in Bochum, studied in Münster and Lisbon, and became familiar with Latin America while still in high school. In 2023–24, she completed her master’s degree at the Universidad Pontificia Católica in Santiago, Chile. She now lives in Berlin and works at an architecture firm.

Bodo Ramelow has been politically active in eastern Germany since 1990 and previously served as a union secretary in Central Hesse. From 2014 to 2024, he was Minister-President of Thuringia, and since March 2025, he has served as Vice President of the German Bundestag.

Jens-Christian Wagner studied history and Romance philology in Göttingen and Santiago, Chile. After earning his doctorate at the University of Göttingen, he served as director of the Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp Memorial (Nordhausen) from 2001 to 2014, and subsequently headed the Lower Saxony Memorials Foundation and the Bergen-Belsen Memorial. Since 2020, he has been director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation and holds the Chair of History in Media and Public Discourse at the University of Jena. Main research interests: the history of National Socialism and its consequences (particularly concentration camps and forced labor), cultures of remembrance after 1945, and historical revisionism.

The book will be published on September 1, 2026, and can be purchased here or on-site at the event.