In this episode of the CPPD podcast ERINNERUNGSFUTUR, Nicole Schweiß talks to Sharon Dodua Otoo about her new novel *‘So, in etwa, ist es geschehen’* and its relationship to a pluralistic culture and practice of remembrance.
The novel’s title deliberately conveys a sense of uncertainty and invites readers to interpret the events for themselves. The plot intertwines a personal guilt – Amata confesses to the murder of her boss Brockhaus whilst in custody – with numerous historical layers: Nazi history (e.g. the bombing of the Kap Arcona in 1945), colonial crimes and more recent protests such as Black Lives Matter, or the deaths of refugees in the Mediterranean are just a few examples. Through Amata’s family history – her grandfather is a Nazi survivor – and her boss’s entanglement with a family linked to a concentration camp, it becomes clear how past violence reverberates in the present and within the individual psyche. Sharon advocates for spaces of remembrance based on solidarity, where different experiences of discrimination are made visible simultaneously without overlooking the challenges. She also discusses current threats to solidarity-based practice in Germany, which make writing and the culture of remembrance more difficult, and emphasises that literature remains a necessary space for processing complex, intertwined memories and reflecting on social responsibility.
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In ERINNERUNGSFUTUR, scientists, artists, journalists and activists report on their work and perspectives on cultures of remembrance in Germany and Europe. The series is part of the DialoguePerspectives e.V. podcast. This podcast episode was produced in cooperation with Nicole Schweiß’s kleiner Pause podcast.
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Sprecher*innen: Ibou Diop und Katja Kinder | Moderation: Nicole Schweiß | Musik: Lotus Ensemble; Einleitung: Hannah Blumas, Editorial team: Hannah Blumas, Nihal Çalışır; Audio-Edit: Gal Yaron Mayersohn; Film Glitch by Snowflake ©2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial (3.0) license; Illustration: Rosa Viktoria Ahlers; Kurator*innen: Jo Frank, Johanna Korneli, Max Czollek | © 2026 DialoguePerspectives e.V. | http://www.cppdnetwork.com
