Bookseller Susanne Dagen โDisinvited from German Ideologyโ Event Amid Controversy
The recent disinvitation of Dresden โbookseller Susanne Dagen from โthe “Denkfest”โ (Thinking Festival)โค in landau, Germany, highlights a โฃgrowing trend of “unloading” – the withdrawal of invitations to public figures following โcriticism -โข and raisesโ questions about โคtheโค boundaries of free โspeech in Germany. following similar incidents involving publicist Michel Friedman and rapper Chefket, Dagen’s โcase has sparked debate, tho without the widespread public outcry seen in โthose earlier instances.
Dagen gained national recognition through her association with author Uwe Tellkamp and for โpublicly expressing sympathy towards โคthe โฃpegida movement, โa right-wing populist group. โHer โdisinvitation, unlike the cancellations of Friedman โand Chefketโ which prompted protests, has largely flown under theโ radar, a disparity critics attributeโ to a โreluctance to defend those with controversial โviews unless personally affected. However, this selective defense of free expression undermines the principleโค itself,โ demanding consistent โadvocacy regardlessโข of ideological alignment.
The “Denkfest” event, a philosophy and discourse festival, opted to rescind Dagen’s invitation, a decision that underscores the increasing pressure on event organizersโ to avoid association with figures โperceived as politically problematic. This pattern of disinvitation, occurring โขboth in Germany and internationally, signals a โขbroader concern about the limits of acceptable discourse and the potential for self-censorship within public forums.