In the organizer's words:

How does right-wing extremism manifest itself in the countryside? A conversation from a direct perspective about the right-wing land grab in villages and small towns and about resistance.

In 2024, the writers Manja Präkels, Tina Pruschmann and Barbara Thériault explore eastern Germany. They cycle through the Ore Mountains, work for a local newspaper in southern Thuringia and compare the particular emptiness of the villages on this side of the Oder with the liveliness of the streets in Poland. They talk about this as "Überlandschreiberinnen" in the taz and are writing a book about it together.

In "Extremwetterlagen. Reportages from a new Germany", the authors describe what is meant by the "normalization of right-wing extremist structures", they meet people who join in, who look away, who resist. Leipzig-based cultural sociologist Alexander Leistner traces mental lines of development that go back to 1989 and beyond.

On December 19, we talk to the authors in the taz about life in the so-called province. We talk about dealing with the present through writing, about how to document time and endure reality. About how the four authors realized that we live in a new country. And how we learn to breathe against the wind that presses into our lungs with sharp gusts.

The guests are:

🐾ManjaPräkels, born in Zehdenick (Brandenburg) in 1974, writes and sings about life and survival in Germany, Eastern Europe and the spaces in between. Her novel "Als ich mit Hitler Schnapskirschen aß" (When I ate brandy cherries with Hitler) has won several awards and been translated.

🐾TinaPruschmann, born in 1975 in Schmalkalden (Thuringia), traveled to Ukraine for her latest novel. In "Bitter Waters", she tells the story of a generation that, after the 1989 revolution, finds itself caught between the old and new systems, between uranium mining in the GDR and the circus in Kyiv.

🐾BarbaraThériault, born in 1972 in Lévis (Québec), is a professor of sociology at the University of Montreal and researches the center of society in Germany, the aesthetics of everyday life and the sociological feuilleton. She gets close to people by working as a local reporter and hairdresser. Read about it in "Adventures of a left-handed hairdresser".

AlexanderLeistner, born in Werdau (Saxony) in 1979, researches the legacy of the 1989 revolution, protests in East Germany and the current political instrumentalization of GDR history in Leipzig. He wrote the essay "Das Land ist ruhig - noch! Notes on a journey through", which can be found in the "Jahrbuch Deutsche Einheit 2025".

🐾Yasemin Said will moderate this event. She writes from the Reportage & Research department, focusing on right-wing extremism, migration policy and the culture of remembrance. She works as a freelance author and director in the documentary film sector for ZDF, ARD Kultur and MDR as well as a podcast producer.

Participation is only possible with a pre-booked ticket. We therefore ask you to register via https://taz.de/taz-Talk-zu-Rechtsextremen-auf-dem-Land/!vn6132067/

Price information:

Registration required via https://taz.de/taz-Talk-zu-Rechtsextremen-auf-dem-Land/!vn6132067/