Abgeschoben und fremdbestimmt oder frech und frei?
– Behinderte Menschen gestern und heute

Recent studies show that many people are unaware that disabled and mentally ill people were systematically murdered under National Socialism. Even less well known are the conditions in care facilities and sanatoriums after 1945. For the surviving patients in state sanatoriums, the military liberation by the Allies was not a new beginning – the majority of the staff were not dismissed, conditions remained inhumane, and it was impossible to come to terms with the murders of disabled and mentally ill people for a long time.

But discrimination and social segregation of disabled, neurodivergent, and mentally ill people is still present today – 80 years after the end of the war. That is why we ask: What has really changed since 1945 – and what has not?

To kick off the event on November 7, we will show an excerpt from the documentary film “Die Alsterdorfer Passion” by Bertram Rotermund and Rudolf Simon, which traces the history of the Alsterdorf institutions up to the 1980s. Afterwards, Hamburg author, activist, and co-founder of the cripples’ movement Udo Sierck will present his new book “Frech und frei. 50 Jahre Kämpfe der Behindertenbewegung” (Assoziation A, 2025) and then engage in a discussion with the Munich Association of People with Psychiatric Experience about the current challenges facing disabled and sick people