Open letter from the first signatories of the Weimar Declaration to the Thuringian Minister President Thomas Kemmerich
Weimar, 6 February 2020
To:
Herrn Ministerpräsident
Thomas L. Kemmerich
Thüringer Staatskanzlei
Postfach 90 02 53
99105 Erfurt
Dear Minister President Kemmerich,
The first signatories of the »Weimar Declaration for Democratic Education« urge you to remedy the shift in power in favour of an authoritarian right in the Free State of Thuringia.
The situation that arose during election of the Minister President yesterday has weakened – and continues to weaken – public confidence in politics in our country. The consequences are of immense significance for all sections of our society, for education, for culture, and beyond this for the political climate in Thuringia and the German Federal Republic.
We urge you to review this situation critically and to clear the way for new elections in the Free State of Thuringia.
Thuringia is a state of culture and education with high international visibility. A specific political history moreover assigns us a particular responsibility for democracy, freedom and diversity. The political message that your election as Minister President conveys jeopardises the work of cultural and educational institutions and calls our country’s basic humanistic values into question. We need a government that is capable of action, legitimised by a convincing democratic majority that governs transparently.
Yours sincerely
The first signatories of the Weimar Declaration
Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp
President, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Hasko Weber and Sabine Rühl
Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar GmbH
Prof. Dr. Michael Dreyer
Haus der Weimarer Republik e. V.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Stölzl
Dr. Ulrike Lorenz
Klassik Stiftung Weimar
Peter Kleine
Lord Mayor, Weimar
Eric Wrasse
Stiftung Europäische Jugendbildungs- und Jugendbegegnungsstätte Weimar (EJBW)
Prof. Dr. Volkhard Knigge
Stiftung Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora
Ulrich Dillmann
Weimar adult education centre
Ulrike Köppel
weimar GmbH Gesellschaft für Wirtschaftsförderung, Kongress- und Tourismusservice
Uta Tannhäuser
Weimar-Jena-Akademie Verein für Bildung e. V.