The theatre project ‘The Third Wave – What’s in store for democracy?’ was developed together with teenagers and young adults from Cologne. In the course of developing the play, we explored issues like racism, extremism, discrimination and Nationalism. Based on the experiment ‘The Third Wave’ by the American history teacher Ron Jones, we looked at the question of how extremist movements emerge and what codes, aesthetics and narratives they use today.
In Germany, the prevailing feeling is: historical responsibility yes, probability of another Nazi dictatorship no. However, in view of numerous acts of right-wing extremist violence, everyday racism and the success of right-wing parties, the topic of right-wing extremism is unfortunately more pressing than ever. How do right-wing movements present themselves today? How do they disguise their racism? What strategies do they use to recruit young people via seemingly harmless social media sites? What options are there for resistance?
The project was awarded with the award “Aktiv für Demokratie und Toleranz” by the federal agency for political education.
