Having been the president of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany) for more than twenty years, Thomas Krüger stands for controversy and open debates. Civic education enables people to participate in a democratic and plural society, empowers against discrimination and offers knowledge based on facts rather than fakes. By doing so, it builds a civic societal stronghold against right-wing extremism in which art and culture can flourish. Or, to look at it from another angle: Civic education, Art and Culture can be allies who apply/seek different approaches, but pursue the same goal: To dismantle the authoritarian character and misanthropic ideologies of the New Right.
Part of Episode XXVIII: “What Is to Be Done? Dealing with New-Right Culture Wars”
With Amelie Deuflhard, Oliver Frljić, Thomas Krüger, Joanna Warsza & Florian Malzacher
17. May 2024 – Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin / Germany
A coproduction with Theatertreffen / Berliner Festspiele
Biography
Thomas Krüger, director of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education) since 2000, started his political career in 1989 as a founding member of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) whose secretary he was until 1990. He was a Member of the East German Parliament in the GDR until 1990.
Thomas Krüger was then appointed first acting representative of the Lord Mayor of East Berlin in addition to his function as a City Councillor for internal affairs in the joint Berlin City and State Government during 1990 and 1991. From 1990 to 1992, he was Deputy State Chairman of the Berlin SPD. From 1991 onwards, Thomas Krüger was appointed Senator for Youth and Family in Berlin, too. In 1994, after he finished his activity as Senator, he was elected Member of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) for 4 years.
Additionally Thomas Krüger is President of the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk since 1995 and member of the advisory board of the cultural foundation of the German Football Association (DFB) since 2014.
Links
Deutschlandfunk Kultur “Fazit” über The Art of Assembly XXVIII (n German):
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