Presentation by FARN

The forest is not merely an ecosystem; as the ‘German Forest’, it is also an ideologically charged motif. Ever since the Romantic era, and particularly during the Nazi era, it served as a justification for an inseparable bond between a ‘German national community’ and the ‘German landscape’.

This lecture provides an insight into the history of the forest in Germany and shows how the forest has repeatedly been exploited to serve inhuman, racist and fascist ideologies. Even today, far-right groups refer to the forest to propagate their ethno-nationalist ideas of love of one’s homeland, nationalism and the struggle against the supposedly foreign.

Since 2017, the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalisation and Engagement in Nature Conservation (FARN) has been investigating the historical and current links between German nature conservation and environmental protection and far-right and ethno-nationalist movements.

FARN consultant Joy (she/her) has been involved in nature conservation since completing her voluntary year of environmental service (FÖJ) in Brandenburg in 2015 and graduated in 2022 with a Master’s degree in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution from the University of Göttingen. Since then, she has been working as a freelance ornithologist (bird expert) and runs workshops exploring the links between nature conservation and right-wing ideologies.

In cooperation with the Cultural Officer for Pomerania and Eastern Brandenburg and the Society for Pomeranian History, Archaeology and Art.

Admission: €3.50