Society for Threatened Peoples invites to official opening

Open Day

Saturday, 22 September 2007,

at Geiststr. 7 in Göttingen

Workshops concerning current human rights issues

Short presentations with representatives of threatened minorities from all over the world

- Africa: Darfur is dying and the world is standing on the sidelines!

- Asia: China – Human Rights and Olympic Games?

- Just Peace for Southern Europe

- Multi-Cultural and Multi-Religious Kurdistan

- Minorities in Germany

- Effects of the climate change on indigenous peoples

- The Crimean Tatars – Return after 50 years

- Film screenings and information on human rights and our work

Multi-faceted Program

- Guided visitations of our Victor-Gollancz-House

- Human rights quiz with interactive participation and big raffle

- Music and dance by international artists: Reggae-Band Hippokritz, Kurdish-Yezidi music group, Bosnian folklore group, African music

- Activities with and for children

Official House Opening Ceremony

From 2 p.m.: Official speeches and formal addresses

- Official welcome by Tilman Zülch, STP General Secretary

- Official welcome by Wolfgang Meyer, Mayor of the city of Göttingen

- Prof. Julius Schoeps (Director of Moses Mendelssohn Center in Potsdam) "Not Turning a Blind Eye – The Humanist Victor Gollancz”

- Dr. Christian Schwarz-Schilling (former German minister and High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina) "A House for Threatened Peoples”

- Prudencio Magne Veliz, Ambassador of Bolivia in Germany

- Chinar Abdullah (Minister of the federal Iraqi state of Kurdistan for the needs of the survivors of the genocide in Northern Iraq)

7 to 10 p.m.: Music and dance – Balkan disco

International food and beverages

VICTOR-GOLLANCZ-HOUSE: GfbV-Headquarter

Victor-Gollancz-House: German STP Headquarters

With the name of our new office we want to honor the British-Jewish humanist, publisher and author Victor Gollancz (*1893, †1967). Throughout his life he sought to make the public aware of crimes against humanity and mobilize support for the victims. Already in 1933 he documented Hitler’s crimes meticulously and demanded the British government to take in Jewish refugees. Later, after the collapse of the Third Reich, he turned against the collective guilt of the Germans, campaigned against starvation, and condemned the mass expulsions. Together with Bertrand Russel and Robert Jungk he was one of the initiators of the movement against atomic weapons. For many years he was an advocate for German-British reconciliation.

The purchase of the house, which once was the University of Göttingen’s animal hospital, could be financed by the Support Association for Threatened Peoples thanks to two very generous donors.

Victor Gollancz: A portrait

HOW TO GET TO US:

Directions for train travellers:

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From the Göttingen train station it takes only about five minutes to walk to our office: From the train station’s forecourt cross Berliner Straße and enter Goetheallee. Take a right to Geiststraße. On the right side at the end of Geiststraße is the Victor-Gollancz-House for Threatened Peoples.

Directions for arrival by car:

To the car park: From Autobahn A7 take exit "Göttingen". After the railway underbridge cross the main crossroads and go straight in the direction of the city center (Groner-Tor-Straße). Immediately on the left side is the car park "Groner Tor", which is about two walking minutes away from the STP office (see map on the right).