Geschlecht, Mutterschaft und Gewalt: Der Fall des fünffachen Solinger Kindsmordes von 2020

In the organizer's words:

In September 2020, five children between the ages of one and eight are found dead in an apartment in Solingen. It soon emerges that they were murdered by their own mother, Christiane K. The public horror is great and just over a year later, the perpetrator is sentenced to life imprisonment by the Wuppertal district court. However, in addition to its legal treatment, the case raises numerous questions. For example, the connection between gender relations and violence: Christiane K. was probably a victim of sexualized violence herself at a young age, experienced a violent and manipulative partnership and was effectively a single parent responsible for six children. The justified shock over the crime has pushed these connections into the background. The French author Prune Antoine has traced the life and experiences of Christiane K. in her book La mère diabolique, which has just been published in German translation. Her descriptions are linked to reflections on the social and historical roles of mothers in Germany and France. She tries to understand not only what went wrong in the case of Christiane K., but also what her actions say about our society.

Book presentation and reading with Prune Antoine (journalist and writer, author of Eine Frau in Deutschland. The Case of Christiane K. (Hanser Literaturverlag 2025)). Organized by Juliane Tauchnitz (Representative of the Chair of French Literature and Cultural Studies, Bergische Universität Wuppertal) and Kolja Lindner (Maurice Halbwachs Guest Professorship, Bergische Universität Wuppertal) and in cooperation with the Autonomous Feminist FLINTA* Department of the AStA of the Bergische Universität Wuppertal.

• Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 6 pm
• CityKirche, Kirchplatz 2, 42103 Wuppertal

Click here for the flyer.

Contact: PD Dr. Juliane Tauchnitz (Representative of the Professorship for French Literature and Cultural Studies) and Dr. Kolja Lindner (Maurice Halbwachs Guest Professorship 2024/25)