24.02.2025: Aufbau der Ausstellung Flucht nach Europa 24.02.2025: Setting up the Seebrücke Passau exhibition Flight to Europe. The members of Seebrücke Passau have been working intensively on researching and designing slides on the topic of flight; on the background to flight, facts and figures, personal stories, sea rescue and the current debate and rhetoric on migration ahead of the Bundestag elections. At the same time, they have been folding boats for weeks, which will be hung up in an installation in the exhibition over the next few days. Each boat represents one of the 3530 people who died or went missing in the Mediterranean in 2024.
Not even 24 hours later, parts of the long-planned exhibition are no longer hanging. Criticism has been levelled, for example, at the one-sidedness of the viewpoints, the presentation of “out-of-context quotes from politicians” and the trivialization of “criminally relevant aiding and abetting illegal entry”. The management of the University Central Library invokes the prescribed neutrality of opinion of universities and the prohibition of any advertising for political parties (§31 AGO). The posters are put up without the knowledge of Seebrücke Passau. It is only a few hours later that a member notices it, whereupon an enquiry is made to the Central Library. The above criticism is sent to Seebrücke a few days later and a meeting is arranged with the library management. “The criticism is incomprehensible to us, because the quotes are contextualized with an informative text on migration rhetoric and another poster is about the legal conditions of sea rescue and not about trivializing the aiding and abetting of illegal entry,” says a student from the university group.
The discussion a week later with three members of Seebrücke Passau and the management of the university library is not satisfactory for the university group. In terms of content, the library management was only able to point out very few specific points on the posters that were criticized and there was no openness to compromise on the part of the management, although they asked several times what specifically needed to be changed. This very unpleasant conversation for the members prompted Seebrücke Passau to take down the exhibition completely the next day. “We didn't want to enter into any further cooperation after this conversation,” says one member.
Seebrücke Passau is very disappointed by this development. Even though the library management has the right of domicile and refers to the neutrality requirement, it is refusing to lead the discourse in the university library by deciding to take down the posters. “Universities have never been neutral and have always been politically and socially influenced in everyday university life, as well as in the space provided for panel discussions and various events on current topics,” says a member of Seebrücke Passau.
Seebrücke is concerned that this development will restrict the discourse on migration policy. “This could also deter others from exhibiting important topics in the Central Library,” says a member of the university group.
Seebrücke Passau will now look for a new space to show the exhibition so that the complete exhibition Flight to Europe can soon be seen again in Passau. Because one thing is very clear: "Not engaging in discourse and dialog is not an option. Flight to Europe, the background to flight and the daily mass deaths of people in the Mediterranean must be addressed and be visible. Political debates may try to cover up and generalize the people who are fleeing with their rhetoric, but behind every boat, behind every refugee, there is a person with dreams, hopes, wishes and goals." Flucht nach Europa Seebrücke is concerned that this development will restrict the discourse on migration policy. “This could also deter others from exhibiting important topics in the central library,” says one member of the university group.