© Volny Chor Archive
When: December 3. 2025, 19:00
Where: St.-Bartholomäuskirche, Friedenstraße 1, 10249 Berlin (M4, Bus 200 Am Friedrichshain/Greifswalder Str.)
Free entry
The event will be held in English – click here to register.
Please note, registration to the event is not mandatory, but we would appreciate it for organisational reasons.
After the one hour-long concert, we invite you to a short panel discussion with the participation of Galina Kazimirovskaya, conductor of the Volny Chor, Olga Bubich, memory researcher, photographer, and essayist, and Masha, former EVZ Fellow and project coordinator at the NGO Educat Kollektiv. The discussion will be moderated by Mascha Wilke, Lead of the EVZ Academy.
The Volny Chor is a cultural protest movement in Belarus, which appeared as a reaction to the mass protests taking place in the Republic of Belarus in August 2020. The portests were met with a wave of violence by the country's security forces.
Professional musicians gathered on the steps of the Philharmonic Society because they could no longer keep silent. They came out with a musical appeal to the people and sang the main anthem for all Belarusians - Magutny Bozha (Almighty God), to show a sign of solidarity to what was happening, their unity with civil society and protesters. At that moment, it was not yet clear that this emotional impulse would result in a movement. Various musicians, instrumentalists, singers, composers, amateur choirs and random citizens began to join. The song has become a unifying link for completely different people.
All the activities of the Volny Chor are strictly anonymous. No one knows who these people are, who appear from nowhere and disappear into nowhere. The main condition for the participation and existence of The Volny Chor is anonymous. The members cannot talk about their participation in the choir. Only the choir director renounces anonymity and bears responsibility for the ensemble. The Volny Chor has repeatedly experienced repressions and persecution: at least 30 people have been arrested, the choir is being hunted, there have been raids on rehearsals, intimidation and threats. But in spite of everything, the Volny Chor lives on, it has followers in different districts of Minsk, in other cities of Belarus and in different countries.
Many of the Volny Chor singers had to leave Belarus. Since the end of June 2021 the choir has been based in Poland where they arrange numerous concerts and tours to talk about their historical past, their present and the hope for the bright future of the New Free Belarus.
We have become a nation without a song, without history, without connection to the past. We felt an abyss: the absence of musical material, absolute ignorance of our patriotic songs and hymns. Therefore the Volny Choir made it its mission to popularize the Belarusian song. We found archives, old editions in Belarus and abroad, made many adaptations and began to expand our repertoire.
EVZ Conversations! of the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future is a digital and on-site discussion format and event series. It brings together people in the areas of politics, civil society and business from the EVZ Foundation's networks in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe as well as Israel – in public discussion events, background and expert talks or in creative and artistic formats.
The focus is on topics that are socially relevant and closely linked to the EVZ Foundation's mission and work.
In 2022, we launched the discussion series and talked with our guests, for example about the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the culture of remembrance, the situation of human rights activists in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia as well as the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia.
You can find the best-of videos and complete recordings of past events on our YouTube channel.
© Ondrej Stanek
© Marcin Kluczek
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
© Stefanie Loos
As part of the conference “Beyond Crises: Resilience and (In)stability”, the panel discussion focused on the current challenges facing cultures of remembrance. Starting from German-Czech remembrance relations, the discussion expanded to include more international perspectives and also involved artists and practitioners from the exhibition “Voices of Memory”. How does German-Czech remembrance culture work internationally? And where are there points of contact or differences with other cultural contexts of remembrance?
Very often when we talk about memories we focus on trauma. But in every terrible situation there is also manifestation of something good, of solidarity, of sharing, of inventing of strategies how to help each other under repressions.
The discussion began with a welcome address by Prof. Kateřina Králová Ph.D. (Director of the Research Center for Memory Studies, Charles University & Memory Studies Association), followed by a brief introduction to the exhibition “Voices of Memory” by Astrid Schmetterling (Senior Lecturer in Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, University of London) and Nikita Kadan (artist). This was followed by a panel discussion.
The participants were:
Moderator: Filip Rambousek, moderator and journalist
The event was carried out in cooperation with the Memory Studies Association.
Together with the German Historical Institute in Warsaw and the Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation, the EVZ Foundation organized a panel discussion with Polish and German experts from academia and civil society. The focus was laying on the debate about the German-Polish cultures of remembrance: What is the current state of the process of German-Polish reconciliation? What has changed in recent years, with fewer and fewer contemporary witnesses, but in a politically charged discourse?
When it comes to the state of Polish-German relations in general, a lot of bad things can happen at the top. However, at the level of social exchanges, local government partnerships, joint projects, a lot has happened over the years, regardless of whether the rulers met, talked, liked, disliked, quarreled.
The event began with a welcome address by Jakob Meyer (Member of the Board, Foundation EVZ), Prof. Dr. Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska (Director, German Historical Institute Warsaw) and Jakub Deka (Chairman of the Board, Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation). A keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Klaus Bachmann, professor of Social Sciences at the SWPS University of Warsaw, then introduced the discussion.
The panelists were:
Moderation: Dr. Maria Skóra, scientist and publicist
The event was carried out in cooperation with the German Historical Institute Warsaw and the Foundation for Polish-German Reconciliation.
On the night of November 9 to 10 in 1938, numerous synagogues, Jewish businesses, homes and schools were looted and destroyed in Berlin and throughout the German Reich. At least 30,000 Jews were arrested, hundreds were murdered or took their own lives. Today, 86 years later, we not only commemorate the victims of these terrible events, but also face up to the responsibility of drawing lessons for the present and the future. We ask ourselves: how can we counter the growing threat of rising antisemitism? And what role do education, a culture of remembrance and civil society play in this?
They beat us! Yesterday was the most terrible day I have ever experienced. I now know what pogroms are, I know what people can do (...).
The event was opened by Dr. Andrea Despot (Chief Executive Officer, Foundation EVZ) & Alexander Barth (Head of the Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Regional Office, Friedrich Naumann Foundation). This was followed by a reading of contemporary sources on the pogrom night by young people and a presentation of research findings and analyses on the Reichspogromnacht by Christoph Kreutzmüller (historian).
Furthermore, there was a discussion on the panel with:
Moderation: Dr. Wolther von Kieseritzky, consultant for historical research/public history at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The evening was accompanied by music from the Berlin Clarinet Quartet.
The event was carried out in cooperation with Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
Against the backdrop of the rise of far-right ideologies and the associated threat to democracy and Germany as an industrial location, many companies are looking for new ways and opportunities to deal with their own past. However, even 80 years after the end of the Second World War, only a few companies are making progress in coming to terms with their own company history under National Socialism. What does (historical) corporate responsibility consist of today? What opportunities do companies have to engage with society and the culture of remembrance? And how do we build a bridge between the historical reappraisal of National Socialism and its social impact and relevance today?
"Never again" was an illusion!
The event was opened with a welcoming speech by Annette Schavan, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Finkelstein Foundation and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation EVZ. This was followed by a keynote speech by Dr. Daniel Logemann, Director of the Museum of Forced Labor under National Socialism.
Furthermore, there was a discussion on the panel with:
Moderation: Dr. Andrea Despot, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation EVZ
In addition, Annemarie Hühne-Ramm, Managing Director of the Finkelstein Foundation, gave an overview of the Finkelstein Foundation's activities. Johanna Sokoließ, a specialist advisor at the EVZ Foundation, also presented the Blended Learning-Format „Informiert, Couragiert, Engagiert“.
The event was carried out in cooperation with the Finkelstein Foundation.
In the run-up to the European Parliament elections and the state elections in Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia, there was growing concern about a further shift to the right and the serious threat this poses to the democratic order in Europe. We discussed questions that go beyond day-to-day politics with experts from academia and civil society: Is there (still) a democratic consensus on values and remembrance in the EU? What unites the right-wing populist movements in Europe and what is their vision for the future of Europe?
Our job is to strengthen the narrative of liberal, representative and perhaps also deliberative democracy, to explain, understand and criticize it, and of course to point out its weaknesses and then to promote and defend it.
The panelist:
Moderation: Maria Wilke, Lead EVZ Academy
The event was carried out in cooperation with taz talk.
Antisemitism has not only been a problem for society as a whole since October 7, 2023. However, the massive increase in antisemitic crimes in Europe speaks for itself. Incidents, some of them violent, are occurring at universities in particular. In a moderated discussion, experts analyzed the current situation, highlighted historical continuities and discussed possible courses of action.
We need more from politicians than empty phrases and references to an abstract reason of state.
Speaker:
Moderation: Joseph Wilson, Specialist Advisor at the EVZ Foundation
The abduction of children is one of the most cruel war crimes committed by Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Together with experts, we examined various legal, political and social aspects. How are these war crimes carried out? What happens to the stolen children? Who can get them back and how can the perpetrators be brought to justice?
There won’t be any accountability for the responsible persons if Ukraine does not win the war.
The following took part in the discussion:
Moderation: Mattia Nelles (Ukraine Expert)
The event was held in cooperation with the Maxim Gorki Theater.
In a hybrid event, representatives of the three Nobel Peace Prize laureate organizations of 2022 discussed the human rights situation in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and the different challenges faced by the respective civil societies since the full-scale Russian war of aggression in the three countries.
Putin is not afraid of NATO, he is afraid of freedom, or of the idea of freedom, because it’s right on the border with Russia.
The following took part in the discussions:
Moderation: Dr. Andrea Despot, Chief Executive Officer of the EVZ Foundation
The event was carried out in cooperation with the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in the context of its annual theme 2023|24 "Project: Enlightenment!".
The instrumentalization of history by Russia in the war of aggression against Ukraine has far-reaching consequences for the European culture of remembrance. Experts from politics, academia and civil society discussed how certainties in the culture of remembrance are increasingly called into question and what needs to be done to address this issue.
It is the policy of modern Russia to instrumentalize the past and to erase Ukraine as a subject from this past. It is obvious that the Russian Federation has been preparing this war during the last 20 years.
How is Putin instrumentalizing history in the war of aggression against Ukraine? And what challenges does memory work face in times of war? These and other topics were covered in past episodes of EVZ Conversations!
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