John Feffer ist ein US-amerikanischer Journalist und Autor, der vielen Berliner Quäkern persönlich bekannt ist. Dank eines Stipendiums konnte er 2012/13 mit vielen Personen ausführliche Interviews führen, mit denen er bereits 1990 als damaliger Mitarbeiter des American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) gesprochen hatte. Es waren unterschiedliche Personen mit unterschiedlichem sozialen Hintergrund, Ausbildung, Einkommen; und nun, nach über zwanzig Jahren, sind die erneuten Interviews eine Gelegenheit, über die „Wende“ oder „Friedliche Revolution“ des Jahres 1989 nachzudenken.
Immerhin vier Mitglieder der äußerst kleinen „Religiösen Gesellschaft der Freunde (Quäker) in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik“ (bzw. der Quäkergruppe Berlin) sind darunter: Hans-Ulrich Tschirner, Matthias Schwerendt sowie Bill und Anne Beittel.
Das meiste über das Quäkertum erfährt man aus dem Interview mit Hans-Ulrich Tschirner (Wittenberg). Nach Helmut Macht, Helga Brückner, Ines Ebert und Heinrich Brückner war er der letzte Schreiber der DDR-Quäker und hat vor allem die Vereinigung der ostdeutschen mit der westdeutschen Quäkernversammlung 1990 zur heutigen „Deutschen Jahresversammlung“ mitgestaltet. Seine Richard-Cary-Vorlesung von 1998 ist mir noch gut in Erinnerung; sie behandelte unter dem Titel „Philantropen, Revolutionäre oder nur religiöse Phantasten“ grundsätzliche Fragen zur Identität des Quäkertums.
Unter anderem berichtet Tschirner in dem neue Interview von seinen ersten Quäkerkontakten zu dem 1991 verstorbenen Pazifisten und Naturwissenschaftler Victor Paschkis, der dadurch beeindruckte, dass er Studenten wie Professoren gleich zu behandeln trachtete. Das Friedensengagement wurde dann zum zentralen Anliegen, dass Tschirner dann auch nach 1989 parteipolitisch bei „Bündnis90/Grünen“ fortsetzte. Vielleicht ist der Gesamttenor „The world is very hopless“ etwas negativ geraten; gerade an vielen Initiativen, an denen Quäker beteiligt waren und sind, kann man auch sehen dass „the world is very hopful“ - vielleicht kommt es weniger auf die Geschehnisse und Ereignisse an, sondern auf den Geist, in dem man sie interpretiert. Wie auch immer, wer sich näher dafür interessiert, welche Rolle unter anderem die Religion bei dem gesellschaftlichen Umbruch spielte, wird in den zahlreichen Interviews viel Neues, auch über kleinere Religionsgemeinschaften, erfahren können:
Fred Abrahams, A Child of 1989 (Berlin)
Judit Acsady, The Flowering of Feminism in Hungary (Budapest)
Milan Antonijevic, Human Rights in Serbia (Belgrade)
Robert Basch, The Czech Culture of Corruption (Prague)
Johannes M. Becker, Heading East (Bonn)
Bill and Anne Beittel, Rebirth of the Countryside (Brodowin)
Sonja Beserko, Serbia’s Future: Back to the Past? (Belgrade)
Irfan Besirovic, Becoming Erased (Ljubljana)^
Andras Biro, Democracy without Democrats (Budapest)
Miroslav Blazek, Doing Business in Eastern Europe (Prague)
David Bohm, Making the Best Food in the Czech Republic (Marianske Lazne)
Tatjana Bohm, Countering Sexism in East Germany (Berlin)
Jelena Bojovic, Courting Capital (Belgrade)
Philip Bokov, A Tale of Two Reforms (Ljubljana)
Luchezar Boyadjiev, Curating the Curators (Sofia)
Andras Bozoki, Hungary’s U-Turn (Budapest)
Petr Bratsky, All Politics is Local (Prague)
Robert Braun, Focusing on Inequality (Budapest)
David Brown, Occupy Slovenia (Ljubljana)
Daniel Bucan, Croatia on the Brink (Zagreb)
Martin Butora, Slovakia’s Pendulum Swing (Bratislava)
David Cerny, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Provocateur (Prague)
Rossitsa Chobanova, State v. Market (Sofia)
Oleg Chulev, The Same Mistake as Solidarity (Sofia)
Bob Cohen, The Hungarian Horseradish (Budapest)
Anna Csongor, Funding Roma Autonomy (Budapest)
Zuzanna Dabrowska, Organizing the Disappointed (Piaseczno)
Kasim Dal, Challenging the Movement (Sofia)
Gareth Dale, The Fall of Utopianism (London)
Mijat Damjanovic, Yugoslavia Could Have Been a Leader (Belgrade)
Pavol Demes, The Slovak Example (Bratislava)
Snezhana Dimitrova, The Perpetual Crisis (Sofia)
Predrag Dojcinovic, Addressing War Crimes (Amsterdam)
Helmut Domke, Closing Doors, Opening Doors (Berlin)
Miroslav Durmov, Inside the Movement (Lexington)
Iskar Enev, Bulgaria’s Political Future (Sofia)
Katalin Ertsey, Can Politics Be Different? (Budapest)
Peter Fiedler, Workers Fight Back (Budapest)
Branko Franceschi, High Times in Yugoslavia (Zagreb)
Boris Fras, Going Organic (Ankaran)^
Maros Gabriel, Ensuring Free and Fair Elections (Bratislava)
Daria Gajic, Finding a Normal Path in Serbia (Nis)
Vihra Gancheva, The Bulgarian Turn (Plovdiv)
Pavel Gantar, Punks and Professors (Ljubljana)
Charles Gati, Regime Change in Hungary (Washington)
Rayna Gavrilova, Losing My Illusions (New York)
Tin Gazivoda, Defending the Underdogs (Zagreb)
Konstanty Gebert, Solidarity after Solidarity (Warsaw)
Daniel German, Participatory Environmentalism (Budapest)
Nicolae Gheorghe, Toward a Roma Cosmopolitanism (Budapest)
Ivo Goldstein, The Spread of Tolerance (Zagreb)
Yonko Grozev, Religious Freedom in Bulgaria (Sofia)
Tom Harrison, Regretting the Region’s Right Turn (New York)
Dagmar Havlova, Monarchy as Metaphor (Prague)
Paul Hockenos, Following the Magic (Berlin)
Jaroslav Hofer, From Greens to Guns (Prague)
Stanislav Holec, Expanding the Fourth Estate (Prague)
Milan Horacek, Inside Outsiders (Prague)
Marko Hren, We Were So Close to Preventing Genocide (Ljubljana)
Tomas Hrustic, Bridging Social Distance in Slovakia (Bratislava)
Renate Hurtgen, What Happened to East Germany’s Workers? (Berlin)
Razvan Ion, Promoting Molecular Revolution in Romania (Bucharest)
Roland Jahn, The Largest Human Rights Movement in the East (Berlin)
Gordana Jankovic, Reviving Local Media in Serbia (London)
Csaba Jelinek, Hungarian Students Resist (Budapest)
Dusan Jordovic, Serbia’s Truth-O-Meter (Belgrade)
Mladen Jovanovic, The Center Holds (Too Much) (Nis)
Violeta Jovanovic, Courting Capital (Belgrade)
Zeljko Jovanovic, Roma as Game Changers (Budapest)
Petya Kabakchieva, Remembering the Calm Life (Sofia)
Zsuzsa Kadar, Working Women (Budapest)
Vasil Kadrinov, The Politics of Memory (Plovdiv)
Mary Kaldor, Detente from Below (London)
Tsvetelin Kanchev, Roma Politics (Sofia)
Krassimir Kanev, Human Rights in Bulgaria (Sofia)
Anton Karagiosov, The Ghettos of Eastern Europe (Plovdiv)
Biljana Kasic, Staying Critical (Zagreb)
Jan Kavan, Trial upon Trial (Prague)
Tchetin Kazak, Representing the Movement (Sofia)
Kinga Kerekes, Speaking One’s Tongue (Cluj)
Thomas Klein, Life Underground (Berlin)
Ivan Krastev, The Goldilocks Generation (Vienna
Vihar Krastev, Escape from Ignorance and Chalga (Varna)
Miroslav Krupicka, Pushing Boundaries (Prague)
Hieronim Kubiak, Reforming the Party (Krakow)
Andreja Kuluncic, The Artist as Bullhorn (Zagreb)
Daniel Kumermann, Tales of the Fantastic (Prague)
Rasto Kuzel, Reviving Slovak Civil Society (Bratislava)
Deyan Kyuranov, The Regime Changer (Sofia)
Marie Landsberg, Germany’s Third Generation East (Berlin)
Joanne Landy, Regretting the Region’s Right Turn (New York)
Vera Lengsfeld, The Stasi’s Long Shadow (Berlin)
Marin Lessenski, Playing Catch Up (Sofia)
Sonja Licht, The Oracle of Belgrade (Belgrade)
David MacBryde, Swords and Ploughshares in Germany (Berlin)
Srdjan Majstorovic, Serbia’s Strategic Ambiguity and EU Integration (Belgrade)
Konstantin Markov, Rocking the Regime (Sofia)
Alexander Matus, Ensuring Free and Fair Elections (Bratislava)
Elzbieta Matynia, The Remarkable Round Table (New York)
Georgi Medarov, Bulgaria’s New Left (Sofia)
Joze Mencinger, Slovenia’s Gradualist Transition (Ljubljana)
Maria Metodieva, The Persistence of Discrimination (Sofia)
Petar Milat, Challenging Gentrification (Zagreb)
Mariana Milosheva-Krushe, Organizing the Public (Sofia)
Nevena Milosheva-Krushe, Bulgaria: The Next Generation (Sofia)
Bojana Milosevic, Serbia’s Truth-O-Meter (Belgrade)
Ognyan Minchev, Where Bulgaria Went Wrong (Sofia)
Maya Mircheva, The Pinnacle of Pessimism (Sofia)
Dirk Moldt, Squat Paradise (Berlin)
Veronika Mora, Ecotopia (Budapest)
Thibault Muzergues, Training the Next Generation (Bratislava)
Irina Nedeva, Voice to the Voiceless (Sofia)
Aryeh Neier, Helping from Outside (New York)
Iordan Nihrizov, The Decline of Social Democracy (Sofia)
Michaela Novotna, To the People (Prague)
Eva Ohrablova, Running Political Campaigns in Slovakia (Bratislava)
Michael Otrisal, Televising Religion (Prague)
Kurt Paetzold, Confronting History (Berlin)
Alena Panikova, Creating an NGO Culture (Bratislava)
Borka Pavicevic, Catharsis! (Belgrade)
Julius Pecha (plus Stano and Anicka), Roma Youth Get Organized (Kecerovce)
Marie Perinova, The Czech Culture of Corruption (Prague)
Robert Perisic, Life in Fast Forward (New York)
Dimitrina Petrova, The Lost Treasure of Revolutions (London)
Sara Pistotnik, Occupy Slovenia (Ljubljana)
Florin Poenaru, LeftEast (Budapest)
Stefan Popov, Taming the Wild East (Sofia)
Dragoslav Popovic, Speaking Openly in Serbia (Belgrade)
Gerd Poppe, Creating a Parallel Society (Berlin)
Tomas Pospiszyl, Public, Private, and Political Art (Prague)
Vladimir Prchlik, Addressing Nuclear Power (Prague)
Zarko Puhovski, Democracy Is Not Enough (Zagreb)
Eva Quistorp, Bridging the East-West Divide (Berlin)
Bela Racz, Becoming a Leader (Budapest)
Zsuzsanna Ranki, Managing the Economic Transition (Budapest)
Costi Rogozanu, Romania’s Fragile New Left (Bucharest)
Stefan Roloff, Them (Berlin)
Mihai Florin Rosca, Romania’s Fraying Social Safety Net (Cluj)
Rudiger Rossig, YU-Rock! (Berlin)
Philipp Rotmann, Germany’s Post-Reunification Foreign Policy (Berlin)
Marcel Rotter, The File (Fredericksburg)
Irene Runge, Pushed to the Margins (Berlin)
Vukosava Crnjanski Sabovic, Serbia’s Truth-O-Meter (Belgrade)
Neza Kogovsek Salamon, Restoring the Erased (Ljubljana)
Gottfried Schleinitz, The Monday Demonstrations (Leipzig)
Matthias Schwerendt, An Inclusive Germany (Berlin)
Milena Dragicevic Sesic, Life under Sanctions (Belgrade)
Volen Siderov, The World According to Ataka (Sofia)
Jirina Siklova, Engendering Change (Prague)
Michal Simecka, Rethinking Democracy in Europe (Bratislava)
Marta Simeckova and Martin Simecka, The End of Claustrophobia (Bratislava)
Michael Simmons, Roma and the Civil Rights Movement (Philadelphia)
Rastislav Sipos, The Sound of Music (Bratislava)
Svetlana Slapsak, Women against Nationalism (Ljubljana)
Ladislav Snopko, Creating a Spectacle (Prague)
Daniel Srb, Croatia’s Unpopulist Party (Zagreb)
Krassen Stanchev, The Green Marketeer (Sofia)
Stephan Stoyanov, Both Sides Now (New York)
Ilona Svihlikova, Building a New Economy (Prague)
Orhan Tahir, The Failure of Funding Roma Integration (Sofia)
Yanina Taneva, The Ideas Factory (Sofia)
Mark Thompson, Passions v. Interests (London)
Vladimir Tismaneanu, The Commission (Washington, DC)
Vaclav Trojan, Behind the Velvet Revolution (Prague)
Thomas Tschirner, Growing Up during Die Wende (Berlin)
Ulrich Tschirner, Being Quaker in East Germany (Wittemberg)
Jan Urban, And Justice for All? (Prague)
Viorel Ursu, The Race from the Bottom (Brussels)
Tibor Varady, This Is Not a Transition (Budapest)
Szilvia Varro, From Journalism to Activism (Budapest)
Tana Keleova Vasilkova, Becoming a Bestseller (Bratislava)
Ivan Vejvoda, Making the Leap Together (Washington, DC)
Vojko Volk, Reconnecting the Balkans (Zagreb)
Danilo Vukovic, Two Cheers for Government (Belgrade)
Reinhard Weisshuhn, Maintaining a Moral Politics (Berlin)
Roumen Yanovski, One Step Forward and… (Sofia)
Jacek Zakowski, The Revolution Devours Its Children (Warsaw)
Aleksandar Zograf, Lucid Dreaming in Pancevo (Pancevo)
Jelka Zorn, Erased and Forgotten (Ljubljana)
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