The Brexit

The Cultural Sector Must Take Countermeasures

KLAUS-DIETER LEHMANN

I’ve always seen Europe in its cultural diversity. Blaise Pascal wrote, “The multitude which is not brought to act as a unity is confusion. That unity which has not its origin in the multitude is tyranny.” That’s exactly what we are experiencing now. The European Commission’s reaction to the Brexit is to say we need more Europe — hence to centralise power even more. It looks like an act of defiance. In my opinion, that is wrong. We need to see that Europe is not a homogeneous entity and instead put the different cultures and the non-simultaneity of Europe into focus. Central and Eastern Europe have a different experience than Western Europe. This requires specific and sensitive handling. I miss that in the statements from Brussels.

If we do not recognise the Brexit as a signal that we need to form a viable, more direct Europe, I think Europe is really threatened. Civil society has to exert more influence and promote social responsibility and participatory behaviour. Europe needs to again be a continent of acceptance, of respect and of discourse. If we do not regain that, then Europe will be lost. We, as the cultural sector, must take major countermeasures and demonstrate that the cultures have to stick together and that we have a shared responsibility for a European cultural region — not a national, but a community responsibility. Then I can see hope!

Extract from an interview first published on goethe.de, July 2016

Prof. Dr. h.c. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, born 1940 in Breslau, is President of the Goethe-Institut (since 2008). He was President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (1998–2008), Director General of the German National Library (1988–1998) and from 1986 Honorary Professor for Economic Informatics at the Goethe-University of Frankfurt am Main. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, who holds a degree in Physics and Mathematics, is a member of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz, a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science and an honorary member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2001. In 2010 he became an honorary senator of the Humboldt University in Berlin. He holds the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Order of Merit of the state of Berlin and the “Kulturgroschen” of the German Cultural Council, as well as high distinctions from France, Austria and Italy.

Read more about the A Soul For Europe Pre-Conference debate here.