Transformation und Osten – Vom Festhalten und Loslassen

Between Identity Politics, Generational Questions, and Future Visions

The two coal regions in eastern Germany are facing structural change on two fronts: the past and the future are competing for the power to shape how this transformation is understood. As the upheaval of 1990 continues to inform current debates, the energy transition and industrial restructuring call for a forward-looking perspective.

How much of the changes brought about by German reunification is reflected in today’s energy transition and broader transformation in eastern Germany? And what does this mean for shaping the future of these coal regions?

These questions will be discussed by Juliane Stückrad (author and cultural anthropologist) and Raj Kollmorgen (sociologist, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences) as part of the 2026 Silbersalz Festival.

Who’s in Conversation?

Dr. Juliane Stückrad is an author, cultural anthropologist, and ethnologist. Her nonfiction book Die Unmutigen, die Mutigen. Feldforschung in der Mitte Deutschlands was published in 2022. She works at the Office for Folklore Research and Documentation in Thuringia. Since 2019, she has served on the Eisenach City Council as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Prof. Dr. Raj Kollmorgen is a sociologist and Professor of the Management of Social Change at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. His research focuses on post-socialist transformations, social structure and inequality, developments in eastern Germany, innovative regional development, and structural change in rural areas. Since 2025, he has headed TRAWOS (Transformation, Housing, and Social Spatial Development), the university’s research institute.