German rappers Kollegah and Farid Bang are soon expected to visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, possibly even in the next few days. After the scandal over their anti-Semitic lyrics, it’s sure to be a charged event.
The storm that came through yesterday has moved on; only a few dark clouds can be seen in the sky over Oświęcim. A brewing midday heat hangs in the air in the garden surrounding the International Youth Meeting Center.
Despite the heat, Christoph Heubner, deputy chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee, appears calm and cool. The media response to his spontaneous outreach to the two controversial rappers, Kollegah and Farid Bang — inviting them to tour the memorial — has not surprised him. Now the two have agreed to visit Auschwitz — or Oœwiêcim, the name the southern Polish city reclaimed after it was liberated from the Nazis, who Germanized the city’s name after invading Poland in 1939.
“As it stands now, we’re ready to schedule a specific date,” Heubner told DW. “Up until now, I haven’t seen any sign that Kollegah and Farid Bang don’t want to take up the offer.” He understands that their management plans to make the visit a purely private affair.
Confronting European history
The journey to Poland will not be easy for Kollegah and Farid Bang. A cancellation is likely out of the question — that would just result in new headlines, after the duo caused controversy with their anti-Semitic lyrics earlier this year.
What is clear is that they in no way want to make the visit a media circus. “I have the feeling from our discussions to date that they are partaking on this journey with a bit of trepidation,” said Heubner.
A program has been drawn up for the visitors, with the two rappers being given a private tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. Just being on-site, encountering the place where people from all over Europe were systematically murdered by the National Socialists and burned in crematoriums, will have an impact, said Heubner.
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