1 November 2024
The Akademie der Künste supports the wording proposals published in the FAZ pertaining to the Bundestag resolution on the protection of Jewish life in Germany
Over the course of the past year, the German Bundestag has been discussing a resolution titled “Never Again is Now: Protecting, Preserving and Strengthening Jewish life in Germany” (Nie wieder ist jetzt: Jüdisches Leben in Deutschland schützen, bewahren und stärken).
The adoption of this recommendation for action by Parliament, which is intended as a clear signal in the fight against antisemitism, has so far been unsuccessful, due to considerable disagreement on certain points. One particular point of contention has been the restriction of constitutionally guaranteed artistic freedoms, which the resolution threatens to bring with it. Artistic freedom as a benchmark of an open and democratic society must not be called into question or jeopardised. Defending freedom of the arts is one of the core missions of the Akademie der Künste. Art can be shaped by a highlighting of societal problems and fractures, up to the point of transgressing legally prescribed boundaries. This balancing act, however, cannot be solved through legal clauses and grant approval procedures. Because only the discourse of art itself defines what art is.
The appeal, published in August 2024 with the support of the Akademie der Künste as well as numerous cultural associations, civil society organisations and representatives from the arts and sciences, called on the German Bundestag to suspend the adoption of the resolution and instead to initiate a process of dialogue that focuses on the self-responsibility of arts, culture and the sciences in achieving the crucial societal goals of protecting Jewish life in Germany (see also press release dated August 29, 2024, “Autonomy of the Arts and Self-Responsibility” ).
Subsequently, on 23 October, an informal group of six academics published wording proposals in the FAZ which could serve to help build consensus towards the adoption of a resolution: “Principles on which all democrats should be able to agree.”
The Akademie der Künste supports these proposed text modules in their nuanced and balanced form and calls upon the German Bundestag to review them and incorporate them into the text of the resolution.
Manos Tsangaris
President of the Akademie der Künste
Past press releases from the Akademie der Künste on freedom of the arts:
Autonomy of the Arts and Self-Responsibility | Akademie der Künste, Berlin
In defence of artistic freedom | Akademie der Künste, Berlin
European Alliance of Academies: A Strong Voice for a Democratic Europe | Akademie der Künste, Berlin