Comic book makes Nazi fates from Siegen visible
Memory needs new forms to stay alive. With the anthology "Bin Mensch nicht auch ich? Remember. Tell. Erleben" is an extraordinary book that tells history in pictures: In the form of graphic novels, i.e. comics, life stories of Nazi victims from Siegen are made accessible in an artistic and at the same time historically sound way.
The book "Bin Mensch nicht auch ich" will be presented on March 22, 2026, at 5 p.m. at the Aktives Museum Südwestfalen, Obergraben 10 in Siegen.
The book is the result of a close cooperation between the University of Siegen and the Aktives Museum Südwestfalen. The anthology was edited by Siegen academics Dr. Jens Aspelmeier, Dr. Jana Mikota and Prof. Dr. Daniel Stein, who supported and developed the concept for the project. It was created as part of the project "Learning about the Shoah Through Narrative Art and Visual Storytelling - Transnational Remembrance in Graphic Literature" funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW. The aim is to open up new ways of communication and to enable young people in particular to gain emotional access to history.
The book focuses on the fates of Betty Hochmann, Inge Frank, Otto Paulgen, Zina and Johanna and Simon Grünewald, who lived in Siegen and the region before and during National Socialism. Their experiences of persecution, deportation, exile, forced labor and "euthanasia" have been researched over many years by the Active Museum and are exemplary of many fates during this time.
There will be an exclusive preview at the presentation in the Active Museum South Westphalia: three renowned artists, Marion Goedelt, Lisa Rock and Stephanie Lunkewitz, will present their contributions to the new anthology. Even before the official publication release, the reading offers the audience the rare opportunity to experience selected text passages live in the presence of the contributors.
