Press release of February 4, 2026
Big series of talks: Hello Rhineland-Palatinate, let’s talk about Heimat
On 27 February, PEN Berlin spokesperson Deniz Yücel and former Federal Minister for Family Affairs Kristina Schröder will discuss the topic »Is this still | already my country?« in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, engaging in a dialogue with each other and the audience. This event at the dasHaus cultural centre in Ludwigshafen will be followed by a further 18 stops across the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Guests will include former Minister Presidents Malu Dreyer and Kurt Beck; former Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing; Büchner Prize winner, Ursula Krechel; and writers Christian Baron, Daniela Dröscher, Lucy Fricke, Dinçer Güçyeter, and Tijan Sila. They will be joined by journalists Jürgen Kaube and Harald Martenstein; football commentator Marcel Reif; publicist Hamed Abdel-Samad; winemaker and former wine queen Lena Endesfelder; and university professors Nils Kumkar, Andreas Rödder, Claudia Ritzi, and Harald Welzer.
The series will be hosted in theatres and cultural centres, as well as at the Jewish Community of Mainz and the Alevi Community of Worms, and of course at Café Heimat in Morbach, the birthplace of filmmaker Edgar Reitz, who made television history with his trilogy »Heimat«.
This ties in directly with the series of the same name in Baden-Württemberg, which began on 26 January in Mannheim and runs until 25 February, concluding at the Literaturhaus Stuttgart with Eva Menasse and Özge Inan. In August and September, the series of talks will continue ahead of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.
Many people still – or once again? – relate to the word »Heimat«. This term has always been used in certain circles, such as right-wing extremist groups who try to appropriate it, as well as on the left of the political spectrum. But what is Heimat? And, to borrow Jean Améry’s words, how much Heimat does a person need? What is necessary to feel at home? What threatens the feeling of Heimat? How does »Heimat« work in the plural?
We want to talk about all of this with both the guests on the podium and the audience, who are a fundamental part of the event series.
»This can and should also be discussed in Berlin and Hamburg«, said Deniz Yücel, spokesperson for PEN Berlin, who is expected to attend all of the events. »But we are doing it right now in Koblenz, Konstanz, Ulm and Prüm. Every evening is an opportunity to bridge the divide in public opinion. We want to do so without fear, freely expressing our opinions from the heart and off the cuff.«
You can find an overview of all 19 venues and 57 participants here.
We would like to thank the German Bundestag, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the federal programme »Demokratie leben!«, the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Berthold Leibinger Foundation, the Wüstenrot Foundation, and the Scholz & Friends agency for their support. We’d also like to say a big thank you to all the institutions and guests who are taking part.
So, Rhineland-Palatinate: Let’s talk about Heimat.
PEN Berlin. Wir stand by our word.
With the kind support of:
