The Mit Wirkung events address German Racism, with focus on antisemitism and anti-Muslim racism in Germany.
Mit Wirkung VI centers on a performance exploring erased and missing aspects of Jewish identity, roots, and shared histories that trace back to a Jewish-Muslim world.

Food will be served during the event, with garlic as a central element, so there will be noticeable smells in the space.

Detailed information on content and sensory stimuli, as well as allergen information, can be found below.

The events take place in a relaxed atmosphere.
Various forms of attention are welcome. There will be different seating options, sensory toys*, blankets, drinks, and food (including gluten-free and vegan alternatives). You are free to move around, participate sitting or lying down, and use sensory toys*. You can take breaks independently and come and go as needed.

Seating Options
Chairs, bean bags, cushions, stools

Quiet Room
There is a quiet room with bean bags, lying options, blankets, and sensory toys*.

*Sensory toys are small, calming objects such as stress balls, putty, or fidget rings that particularly help neurodivergent people regulate their nervous system.

What is a Relaxed Event?
Relaxed events are based on the format of a Relaxed Performance and aim to provide accessibility, particularly for neurodivergent individuals, people with chronic illnesses/pain, and those with invisible disabilities. In these events, accessibility is not an afterthought but an integral part of the event concept. Just like in theater performances, there are often implicit behavioral expectations at events that make it difficult for neurodivergent people or those with chronic illnesses/pain to fully participate. Examples include expectations to sit still, move little, or not take breaks independently. These conventions can hinder participation for many people. The aim of the relaxed event format is to eliminate these rules/expectations.
Additionally, relaxed formats offer a sensitive approach, especially for emotionally charged or trauma-related topics. At the beginning of each event, we will share various body exercises with you, designed to calm the central nervous system, which you can perform individually or as a group.

6:30 – 7:00 Soft Arrival
7:00 – 8:15 PERFORMANCE
8:20 – 8:40 Break
8:40 – 9:10 Food
9:10 – 9:40 Q&A

Performance in English, Hebrew, and Arabic
75 minutes

The performance explores rhythms that trace back to Jewish-Muslim worlds. It reflects on how the emergence of national ideology and sociopolitical development have affected rhythms and music. The performance is a mediation on often erased and overlooked aspects of Jewish identity, roots, and shared histories.

Content Notes:
-Extended and repeated slapping on bare skin (on one’s own and another’s chest)
-Physical contact between the performers
-Close proximity between performers and audience
-Dark stage atmosphere, including moments of complete darkness (blackouts)
-Rhythmic, repetitive movement and singing
-Potentially overwhelming sound density
-Poetry addressing themes of violence, origin, belonging, and transformation
-Narrative text dealing with displacement, colonialism, diaspora, cultural appropriation, and remembrance
-Spoken text is not always intelligible due to distortion
-References to historical traumas such as the Holocaust, the displacement of Jewish and Muslim communities, and colonization
-Discussion of the appropriation of Palestinian music in Israeli culture
-Critical reflection on nationhood, purity, identity, and collective history

Sensory Stimuli:
-Dark lighting with focused spotlights
-Slapping on bare skin over extended periods
-Distorted voices using effects such as echo, reverb, and amplification
-Extended periods of loud rhythmic sounds (tap dancing, drumming on metal)
-Metallic banging and drumming on tin cans used as instruments
-Two full blackouts (complete darkness), approximately in the middle and at the end
-Subwoofer sound resembling a generator
-Sudden shifts between dense soundscapes and silence
-Strong visual contrasts (e.g. reflective metal surfaces lit from below)
-Slowly building layered vocal arrangements
-Overlapping of voices and sounds to the point of indistinguishability
-Smell of garlic

The food will be prepared after the break as part of a ritual. It mainly consists of finger food and will be served on paper plates. There are no tables for participants to sit and eat.

Content Notes:
Audience may participate in crushing garlic

Sensory Stimuli:
Soundscape of conversations, many people speaking at the same time
Smell of food, especially garlic

Allergens
-Garlic
-Butter (contains lactose)
-white salty cheese (contains lactose)
-black kumin
-sesame
-leek
-Wheat and gluten
-Gluten-free alternative: potatoes
-May contain conservants

This is an open conversation. Because it is an open format, exact content notes cannot be provided. Possible topics include:

Content Notes:
-Jewish/arabic identity
-Erasure under statehood
-Diversity in jewish identities
-Erasure under zionism

There is continuous, step-free and level access (incl. kerb ramp) from the street to the building and to the hall with a width of at least 150 cm. The floor surface in the courtyard is slightly uneven.
The event takes place in the hall, which is at ground level.
The hall is entered through a 194 cm wide double door. Then there is a second double door, which has an entrance dimension of 180 cm. The third double door, through which the audience enters the hall, is 136 cm wide.
There is no elevator.
Unfortunately, the bar can only be reached via a staircase on the second floor and is therefore not accessible for wheelchair users. There are 17 steps between the first floor and the second floor.
There is space for wheelchairs or walking frames in the event hall/area and there is the option of reserving a particularly suitable seat and/or entering the hall early.

Accessible WC
There is a wheelchair-accessible toilet on the first floor of the building. Access to this toilet is via the corridor and is 198 cm wide. The entrance to the toilet is 79 cm wide.

The nearest stop is U-Bahnhof Eberswalderstr.
The underground station has an elevator. The subway station is located at an intersection with a lot of car and pedestrian traffic.
From there, parts of the path to Ballhaus Ost lead over cobblestones.
The entrance to the theater is through the archway in the courtyard of the building at Pappelallee 15.

Parking
In Pappelallee there are parking spaces in the public area on the roadside. The theater cannot offer its own parking spaces.

The event will focus on antisemitism and anti-Muslim racism in Germany.

All groups involve participant engagement through discussions or sharing the results of group work in smaller or larger settings (only if desired). There will be increased noise levels during group work in the main hall! There may also be food smell during group work.
Detailed content notes, sensory cues for each group session, and allergen information for the catering are provided below.


The event will take place in a relaxed atmosphere.
Various forms of attention are welcome. There will be different seating options, sensory toys*, blankets, drinks, and food (including gluten-free and vegan alternatives). You are free to move around, participate sitting or lying down, and use sensory toys*. You can take breaks independently and come and go as needed.

Seating Options
Chairs, bean bags, cushions, carpets

Quiet Room
There is a quiet room with bean bags, lying options, blankets, and sensory toys*.

*Sensory toys are small, calming objects such as stress balls, putty, or fidget rings that particularly help neurodivergent people regulate their nervous system.

What is a Relaxed Event?
Relaxed events are based on the format of a Relaxed Performance and aim to provide accessibility, particularly for neurodivergent individuals, people with chronic illnesses/pain, and those with invisible disabilities. In these events, accessibility is not an afterthought but an integral part of the event concept. Just like in theater performances, there are often implicit behavioral expectations at events that make it difficult for neurodivergent people or those with chronic illnesses/pain to fully participate. Examples include expectations to sit still, move little, or not take breaks independently. These conventions can hinder participation for many people. The aim of the relaxed event format is to eliminate these rules/expectations.
Additionally, relaxed formats offer a sensitive approach, especially for emotionally charged or trauma-related topics. At the beginning of each event, we will share various body exercises with you, designed to calm the central nervous system, which you can perform individually or as a group.

Additionally, relaxed formats offer a sensitive approach, especially for emotionally charged or trauma-related topics. At the beginning of each event, we will share various body exercises with you, designed to calm the central nervous system, which you can perform individually or as a group.

Mehmet Arbag and Anna Sabel
Text and Audio in German, conversation in German
During the group work, a text and an audio file will be listened to together, followed by a discussion.

Text: “And what else is there to say about Antisemitism among Muslims?”

Content Notes:
-It addresses the racist claim that Muslim people are antisemitic.
-It explores how anti-Muslim racism and antisemitism are interconnected.
-The text discusses how people are treated differently based on their perceived religion or culture, using examples like circumcision and fasting.

Audio: Securitization

Content Notes:
-It focuses on racism and how certain groups are constructed as a threat.

-The contribution discusses the effects of security measures.
-People resist unjust security measures.

Sensory Stimuli:
-The audio file is approximately ten minutes long.
-Multiple voices alternate in the audio file.

Sisi Olubowale – Collage Against the Machine
Conversation in English/German.
During the group work, participants will collaboratively create a collage.

Content Notes:
-In the group work, participants reflect on personal or collective thoughts and emotions related to equality, collaboration, and the creation of an equal society in the context of anti-Muslim racism and Antisemitism in Germany.
-The activity encourages participants to work with newspapers and create collages, which may potentially include images of conflicts, wars, and violence.

Sensory Stimuli:
-Participants will work with scissors and glue.
-Possible sounds of paper being cut or torn.

Agata Lisiak
Texts in English/German, conversation in English.
During the group work, two texts will be read and discussed together.

Text 1: Ursula K. Le Guin – “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”

Content Notes:
-Descriptions of abuse, neglect, and extreme suffering of a disabled child.
-Ableist language.
-Exploration of the moral dilemma between the collective well-being and the suffering of a single individual.

-Examination of social injustice and the ethics of sacrificing an individual’s suffering for the greater good of society.
-Reflection on society’s responsibility for the suffering of its most vulnerable members.
-Mention of intoxication and psychoactive substances
-Use of irony.

Text 2: Rosa Luxemburg – “Die Ordnung herrscht in Berlin”

Content Notes:
-Discussion of the political situation and violent events after World War I in Berlin.
-Discussion on the brutal suppression of the Spartacist uprisings and the role of the social democratic government.
-Graphic depictions of violence, murder, and brutal repression.
-Themes of war, political violence, and oppression.
-Mention of weapons.

Dr. Dörthe Engelcke
Texts in German/English, conversation in German with English translation.
During the group work, a statement and two definitions of Antisemitism will be read and discussed.

Statement on the Bundestag Motion Adopted on January 29, 2025: “Decisively Countering Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Sentiment in Schools and Universities, and Securing the Space for Free Discourse”

Content Notes:
-Critical analysis of the proposed Bundestag resolution on combating Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in schools and universities.
-Thematic focus on the isolation of Antisemitism and the neglect of other forms of discrimination, specifically anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and general racism.
-Discussion on the one-sided focus on the Jewish population in Israel and the neglect of the history of the Palestinian population.
-Criticism of the potential restriction of academic freedom and discourse due to security discourses and potential censorship of critical positions.

Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

Content Notes:
-Definition of Antisemitism.
-Mention of discrimination, prejudice, hostility, or violence against Jewish people.
-Description of antisemitic stereotypes, such as the idea of a Jewish world conspiracy or the “invisible power” of Jewish people.
-Distinction between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitic statements, particularly in the context of Israel and Palestine.

IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

Content Notes:
-Definition of Antisemitism.

-Mention of hate speech, incitement, defamation, or violent acts against Jewish people.
-Special emphasis on criticism of Israel that may be classified as antisemitic.

Tabea Böker – Solidarität_en & Utopie
Writing in any language, conversation in German/English.
During the group work, both small group and large group work will be carried out. Writing, open conversations, and role-playing are possible.

Content Notes:
-Use of emotion cards, i.e., cards that visually represent emotions.
-Engagement with the concept of solidarity and its practical implementation.
-Discussion of potential conflicts of goals within solidarity movements.

-The exchange is open and dependent on what the participants wish to share. Therefore, it is not possible to provide concrete content notes for the group. Potential topics that may be addressed include:
*Experience with repression.
*Experiences with antisemitism.
*Experiences with racism, especially anti-Muslim racism.
*Experiences with insecure residency conditions and criminalization.
*Thematic exploration of oppression and marginalization.
*Reflection on (societal) exclusions.

Sensory Stimuli:
-The group work will involve working with visual emotion cards.

Allergens:
-There will be bread with gluten, but also a gluten-free alternative
-Milk and soy yogurt
-Broccoli
-Peas
-Garlic
-Thyme

There is continuous, step-free and level access (incl. kerb ramp) from the street to the building and to the hall with a width of at least 150 cm. The floor surface in the courtyard is slightly uneven.
The event takes place in the hall, which is at ground level.
The hall is entered through a 194 cm wide double door. Then there is a second double door, which has an entrance dimension of 180 cm. The third double door, through which the audience enters the hall, is 136 cm wide.
There is no elevator.
Unfortunately, the bar can only be reached via a staircase on the second floor and is therefore not accessible for wheelchair users. There are 17 steps between the first floor and the second floor.
There is space for wheelchairs or walking frames in the event hall/area and there is the option of reserving a particularly suitable seat and/or entering the hall early.

Accessible WC
There is a wheelchair-accessible toilet on the first floor of the building. Access to this toilet is via the corridor and is 198 cm wide. The entrance to the toilet is 79 cm wide.

The nearest stop is U-Bahnhof Eberswalderstr.
The underground station has an elevator. The subway station is located at an intersection with a lot of car and pedestrian traffic.
From there, parts of the path to Ballhaus Ost lead over cobblestones.
The entrance to the theater is through the archway in the courtyard of the building at Pappelallee 15.

Parking
In Pappelallee there are parking spaces in the public area on the roadside. The theater cannot offer its own parking spaces.