They make a stand against discrimination and exclusion – and for diversity, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence: the International Weeks Against Racism, which take place every year in March. At the Schöpflin Campus in Lörrach, we also participated with a participatory program at the FABRIC site under the motto »We are all different. We are all the same.«  The Werkraum Schöpflin organized workshops for school classes, where students explored the mechanisms of exclusion through a personal family story from the Nazi era.

A poster campaign at the FABRIC site in Lörrach prompted passersby and visitors to reflect with seemingly simple questions. Questions like »What is your favorite food?«, »When do you feel properly dressed?« but also »Why does your appearance affect how you're treated?« were designed to encourage people to engage with their thought and perception patterns.

To allow people to share their thoughts and actively engage in exchange, FABRIC held a participatory program on March 20. Part of this program was the labeling of the posters. Anyone who wanted to participate could answer the questions with their thoughts and write them on the posters with a marker. Participants exchanged ideas and discussed the different responses.
 

Who am I and how do others perceive me?

To make this theme particularly tangible for children, there was a drawing and crafting station at the Plankiosk on the site. Here, children were encouraged to draw themselves, as well as other children. This encouraged them to think about how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them. Which features of appearance are different from those of others? Which are the same? And does it even matter?

To reflect the diversity of people, both children and interested adults could draw their outlines on a wooden wall and personalize them. The results of this participatory activity are on display for a short time in an exhibition at the FABRIC site.
 

»Never again is now!«

The starting point for the workshop offering for school classes, »The Radio: A Biographical Approach | Workshop on Nazi Suppression« was the personal family story of Birgit Degenhardt, head of the Werkraum Schöpflin. Her grandfather was interned because he listened to forbidden radio stations and owned a suspicious metal construction kit in his basement. He survived the Buchenwald concentration camp only due to the solidarity of his fellow prisoners. His grandfather had always remained silent about his past; through letters and documents, Birgit Degenhardt was able to reconstruct his story. Based on this story, the school classes explored where exclusion and discrimination can lead – on the path to totalitarian systems.