Postmigrant Memory Culture

Cultures of remembrance and politics of remembrance in Germany are in a state of continuous change. However, the question arises of whom or what is publicly remembered, because memory culture reproduces power relations and affiliations. In this context, this thesis investigates which memory spaces are articulated by civil society in the public space of Leipzig in relation to the transforming post-migrant society and what possibilities exist there for a civil society memory practice. Semi-structured and guideline-based expert interviews with actors of the post-migrant civil society were conducted and evaluated with the help of a qualitative content analysis. The results provide initial indications of conflicts and new forms of memory. In this context, a wide variety of memory sites related to the colonial history of the city, the right-wing extremist attack in Hanau or the racist violence in Grünau were highlighted by civil society actors. In addition, networks of solidarity and post-migrant alliances play a role, which brought projects of remembrance politics into being in the first place.

Master thesis - Urbanism - Bauhaus University Weimar