- commencement of the Festival Genius Loci at the Buchenwald Memorial, showcasing various videos
"5 to 33" is the theme for Genius Loci's video festival in Weimar during the state election weekend. The year 1933 is the intended reference, highlighting the festival's international video and light installation display from Friday to Sunday on the Buchenwald Memorial grounds. Three structures will be illuminated specifically, and light art will be projected onto the 50-meter-tall bell tower of the memorial, visible from a distance. The installations are said to be in harmony with the historical and dignified essence of the site, as stated by the organizers.
The Buchenwald Memorial serves as the burial ground for thousands of concentration camp prisoners, as cited by Buchenwald Memorials. This European landmark, built in 1958 as a GDR national monument, holds the largest memorial designation for a Nazi concentration camp.
Political Election in perspective
The festival's organizers aim to scrutinize the current state of affairs. Genius Loci's eleventh edition, dubbed "It feels like 5 to 33," alludes to 1933—the year Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor, symbolizing the demise of parliamentary democracy.
As per polls, the Thuringian AfD, labeled by Verfassungsschutz as firmly right-wing extremist, is approximately 30% strong just before the state election. This could potentially make them the most prominent force in the state parliament. "Across Europe, and possibly beyond, we've been witnessing the surge of forceful populism, oversimplified egoism, and escalating animosity toward the 'other,'" notes the festival organizers on their website.
From the late-1930s summer onwards, the National Socialists expelled more than a quarter of a million individuals, including men, women, children, and underage youths, from 50 nations, to Buchenwald concentration camp and its satellite camps exceeding 130. Around 56,000 individuals perished or succumbed to famine, diseases, compulsory labor, or scientific investigations. Approximately 21,000 individuals lived through liberation.
The video installations at the festival will be displayed on various structures, including the towering 50-meter-tall bell tower made of beech wood. The festival's organizers have chosen beech wood towers as one of the structures to project light art, aiming to create a harmonious blend of modern technology and historical architecture.
