Berlin Theater Pool Project Sparks Controversy Over Exclusive Access
2 sources · Germany
Who reported this
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Every source for this story reports from Germany.
The Berliner Volksbühne theater recently installed a temporary pop up pool called the Volksbad on Rosa Luxemburg Platz as a protest against the decay of city infrastructure and the closure of public baths. The project, led by artistic director Matthias Lilienthal, cost 300,000 euros in theater subsidies. While the pool was initially popular with the public, a controversy emerged when the theater announced a time slot on a Friday that was exclusively for Black communities.
A local CDU politician posted a video on Instagram claiming she was excluded from the pool because she is white. This sparked a viral reaction from conservative influencers and the AfD party, with Alice Weidel questioning if the event used apartheid as a model. The theater later changed the wording on its website to state that the slot was reserved for the association EOTO, which advocates for Black people. However, the event was ultimately canceled due to security concerns following numerous racist threats against the association.
Outlets with different political leanings framed the event differently. A center left source described the situation as a culture war and characterized the reaction from the AfD and right wing media as an intimidation machine. A center right source framed the issue as a failure of the theater to maintain the openness of a free society, arguing that restricting access to public spaces based on identity markers risks creating the very discrimination it seeks to fight.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Framed the event as a targeted campaign of intimidation by right wing actors against a cultural institution.
- Centre-right
- Framed the event as a problematic attempt to create safe spaces that contradicts the principles of an open society.
Sources
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