The Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Ms. Claudia Roth (MdB), has appointed Prof. Raj Kollmorgen as a member of the Advisory Board of the newly established foundation "Sites of German Democratic History" in a letter dated 17.03.2023.

The new foundation will begin its actual work in fall 2023.

A whole series of places and sites in Germany are associated with the struggle for the rule of law, freedom and human rights. In order to raise public awareness of the importance of these places for our democratic development, the German Bundestag passed a law on June 9, 2021 to establish the "Foundation Places of German Democratic History". On September 14, 2021, the Board of Trustees met for its constituent meeting. The new federal foundation was funded with up to 3 million euros in 2022.

Many people are not even aware of the importance of these places in the context of the development of our democracy. As authentic places of remembrance of the eventful history of democracy in Germany, they are particularly suitable for conveying the value of a free and democratic basic order. In this way, they should provide impetus for active participation in democratic coexistence and encourage people to actively shape social coexistence. The "Foundation Places of German Democratic History" is intended to coordinate and bundle the federal government's commitment. Its work is to be carried out in all regions of Germany.

The foundation is based in Frankfurt am Main. This is where the members of the first all-German parliament met in St. Paul's Church on May 18, 1848 to discuss a liberal constitution with fundamental rights and the formation of a German nation state. St. Paul's Church is one of the key sites in the history of German democracy. In the coming years, it is to be renovated in close cooperation between the city of Frankfurt, the state of Hesse and the federal government and strengthened as a place of remembrance through the redesign of a "House of Democracy".

On August 25, 2021, the Federal Cabinet appointed the members nominated by the Federal Government for this body. The Board of Trustees consists of 14 members in total. In addition to the members appointed by the Federal Government (one each at the suggestion of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection - BMJV as well as two experts), four members are delegated by the German Bundestag and two more by the federal states. In addition, the President of the German Historical Museum Foundation (DHM), the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Foundation (HdG), the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the Chairman of the Foundation's Advisory Board are members of the Foundation Council.

Source: Announcement by the Federal Government from 10.09.2021