Schule, Kiez und Wiedersprüche – Perspektive erweitern – über Rassismus und Empowerment

Fichtelgebierge Primary School

Berlin-Kreuzberg, Germany 2023

Commissioned by:

Bildungsteam Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.

Concept and production:

Gudrun Greve, María Fernanda Agudelo Ganem and Fine Freiberg

Audio-Exhibition

School, Neighborhood, and Contradictions—broadening perspectives—on racism and empowerment

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The exhibition at the Fichtelgebirge School is part of the project ‘Educational Building Blocks against Anti-Muslim Racism in Primary Schools’ by the Berlin-Brandenburg Education Team. The aim is to empower multipliers and pupils at primary schools to recognise and counter racism, focusing on the experiences of people with a migration background. In this context, the project develops offerings for educators, parents and pupils.
The exhibition aims to make the personal memories of ten former pupils and staff members of the FGS from the 1970s to the 2010s audible. Interviews placed at five different audio stations in the school facilitate access to their histories. The audio tracks are accompanied by some archive photos, which are also presented at the audio stations.

Fatma's class in the 1970s at Fichtelgebirge Primary School

Fatma’s class in the 1970s at Fichtelgebirge Primary School


The Fichtelgebirge Primary School, founded in 1967, is located in Kreuzberg, on the border with Treptow. Its historical significance is linked to the situation in former West Berlin. This exhibition aims to take a closer look at these contexts and raise awareness of them.

The Wrangelkiez neighbourhood, where the Fichtelgebirge Primary School is located, was traditionally a working-class neighbourhood. Due to its location in one of the ‘last corners’ of West Berlin and the fact that many of its houses were in poor condition, the neighbourhood was not a very desirable place to live for a long time. When many immigrants arrived in the 1960s and 1970s as part of labour migration, they found housing here. In this context, people mainly from Turkey, but also from many other countries, came to the neighbourhood and created numerous small shops and structures that revitalised the neighbourhood. For a long time, the proportion of residents with a migrant background was one of the highest in Berlin.


With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city’s geography changed and the Wrangelkiez neighbourhood became a popular central area. In recent decades, this has led to rents rising rapidly and many small shops having to close. Many people who had shaped the neighbourhood since the 1960s and helped breathe new life into it can no longer afford the high rents and are forced to move away. As a result of these gentrification processes (increased rents, displacement, commercialisation, e.g. for tourism, etc.), the neighbourhood is undergoing major changes. The same is true of the history and experiences of the people confronted with these processes and education policy.


A family business in the Wrangelkiez neighbourhood.
Both parents attended Fichtelgebirge Primary School in the 1980s.


The exhibition in 5 Stations:

Interview partners:

PDF Interview Partners in German

#1 Our school days:

This station highlights the everyday school life of former pupils, which was often marked by experiences of discrimination and exclusion.

Quotes:
‘I was kicked out of class and sometimes not allowed back in at all.’
‘We couldn’t speak any German and couldn’t understand what the teacher was saying – we just stared at him.’

#2 Our home:

Former pupils report on their living conditions in the Wrangelkiez neighbourhood from the 1970s onwards. Many of the flats that migrants had to move into were in very poor condition. Outdoor toilets and coal heating were standard. The neighbourhood, which often consisted of people who had also migrated, stuck together and found a new home.

Quotes:
‘We had no bathroom and no heating. Our flat consisted of only two rooms, but the rooms were large.’


#3 Görli & Co:

In recent decades, the Wrangelkiez neighbourhood has undergone massive changes due to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent gentrification. Former pupils report on life in their neighbourhood during their primary school years.
Quotes:
‘Back then, it was wonderful, it was nice… everyone knew each other… we always said hello to each other.’
‘Back when the Wall was still standing, we played football on Schlesische Straße. Sometimes there were only four cars parked in front of my street because many people didn’t have cars. As a child, it was nicer than it is now.’

#4 Walking to Prinzenbad:

Most parents had to work all day and often left the house early in the morning to get to the factory. They didn’t have time to look after their children in the afternoon. Our interviewees talk about their leisure activities in Kreuzberg before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Quotes:
Some parents of our German classmates said that they shouldn’t play with us.’
‘As children, we weren’t allowed to ride the underground. We walked to Prinzenbad under the elevated railway to Prinzenstraße so that we wouldn’t get lost.’

#5 We are trying something new:

Active parents and educators who actively combat discrimination and racism in school structures and everyday school life report on their work.
Quotes:
My colleague always wrote on the board: “We speak German here.” And I always wrote: “Turkish and other languages.”’
‘It was important to get started, to open up… Unfortunately, discrimination is not really addressed in the curriculum, but I always take the time to do so. For example, if there is a picture in the textbook that is discriminatory, I discuss it with the children. This is also becoming increasingly important in society – it is simply no longer possible to ignore it.’