In the organizer's words:

Right-wing extremism is no longer a marginal phenomenon. It can be seen in election results, in everyday life, in debates and also in the fact that devaluation, exclusion and right-wing rhetoric are increasingly gaining ground and are rarely clearly rejected. At the same time, it is often perceived differently in East and West Germany. Why is that? What blind spots are there on both sides and what does this mean for a democratic, open society?

These questions are the focus of the reading and panel discussion: Jakob Springfeld, author of the book "Der Westen hat keine Ahnung, was im Osten passiert" (The West has no idea what is happening in the East), will begin by reading from his book and describing how social tensions, devaluation and political radicalization feel on the ground and why it falls short to treat the shift to the right as a "regional special case".

In the subsequent discussion:

• Josefine Paul, Minister for Children, Youth, Family, Equality, Refugees and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia,
• Katja Meier, Member of Parliament from Saxony and former Saxon State Minister of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality,
• Jakob Springfeld, author.

The focus will be on the question of how democratic politics and civil society can remain capable of acting together: What strategies work in prevention and political education? How do we protect those affected and strengthen cohesion? And what can East and West learn from each other in order to effectively counter right-wing structures?