How did the transformation of society after 1989 affect the socialist personality? In Dialogues of ABM (Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen – a state subsidized short term job program), I am particularly interested in the people who were in the midst of working life when the Wende took place. How did mass unemployment, mass emigration, property redistribution and right-wing violence on the one hand and new liberties, democratic processes, looser forms of labor organisation and a European border opening on the other hand, contribute to a self-understanding and self-knowledge of new post-socialist subjects? How are these narratives remembered today on the basis of ABM work experiences?
Through discussion formats, writing exercises and performative exercises, 6-8 participants come together for a structured weekend of joint questioning of their memories. A writing workshop collects scenes of their ABM experience which will be written down for a reenactment of their memories.
Project lead: Elbe Trakal
Contact: www.trakal.net