After Theater of Reconciliation, the second edition of the discussion series organized by Max Czollek is dedicated to the issue of Overcoming the Present. The focus lies on events and phenomena of the present and the question of how the past reflects in them. Max Czollek meets people who seek to understand many of the current crises and find answers to them: How to deal with the climate crisis, the expanding wars, the continuity of right-wing politics and violence? How to cope with feelings of grief, despair, and anger? What role does civil society play in dealing with conflicts? And how stressable are alliances for a collaboration in exceptional situations?

Said Etris Hashemi is a writer and the son of Afghan refugees. He was directly affected by the right-wing extremist terror attack in Hanau on 19 February 2020. He lost his younger brother and many childhood friends to the attack. He himself survived the racially motivated attack with several gunshot wounds. Since then, he has become an advocate for more justice in Germany, actively using his voice, and campaigning against racism and discrimination. Hashemi is the author of Der Tag, an dem ich sterben sollte: Wie der Terror in Hanau mein Leben für immer verändert hat [The day I was supposed to die: How the terror in Hanau changed my life forever] (2024). He lives and works in Hanau.