Lesung: Burak Yilmaz in 34OST

In the organizer's words:

Burak Yilmaz grew up in Duisburg, post-migrant. His educational path - elite Catholic grammar school, Koran school, university - crosses milieus, his work dangerous convictions: In response to anti-Semitism in his youth center, he organizes trips to Auschwitz with Muslim teenagers. The result is an explosive mixture of pain, disappointment and belonging ...

Ehrensache is a testimony against hatred, a unique life story and an urgently needed foray into a sensitive area of the German public sphere.


Burak Yilmaz, born in Duisburg in 1987 to Turkish-Kurdish parents, lives as an independent teacher in his home town. Among other things, he initiated the Young Muslims in Auschwitz project and runs the theater group Die Blickwandler. He was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit by Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his multifaceted commitment against anti-Semitism and for an inclusive culture of remembrance.
Yilmaz was also awarded the Julius Hirsch Prize 2022 by the German Football Association (DFB) for his many years of commitment against discrimination and exclusion.

Organizers: The event is sponsored by the State Center for Political Education of North Rhine-Westphalia and is being held in cooperation with the Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Düsseldorf, the zakk - Center for Action, Culture and Communication, the Asphalt Festival and the Edelweißpiratenfestival