German society is the result of a collective merit. It emerges out of the interplay of the joint and diverse contributions of all those who live in this country. Nevertheless, this fact is often forgotten or even denied today, increasingly by people in positions of power. 

Who does Germany belong to? In eight podcast episodes, Max Czollek and his guests shed light on different perspectives and concepts of belonging in a plural society. The dialogue creates an archive of home and resistance, reminding us that these discussions are not new and that strategies have already been found in the past that can be taken further today.

The podcast accompanies a series of talks titled Heimatization—On Belonging and Plurality, which take place at Haus der Kulturen der Welt from March to November 2025. It delves into the issues discussed there, opens up new perspectives, and explores how a society can be imagined in which everyone can be at home and not just some.

The latest episodes:

Episode 4: Empowerment and Resistance: Sinti and Roma since 1945
With Max Czollek und Kelly Laubinger

In Episode 4 of the podcast Who Does Germany Belong To?, Max Czollek speaks with Kelly Laubinger, activist and managing director of the Sinti Union Schleswig-Holstein, about strategies of resistance developed by Sinti* and Roma* communities since 1945. They discuss the vitality of these communities, as well as the long history of structural discrimination and persecution. What does anti-Sinti* and Roma* racism mean, both historically and today? What role do self-organized initiatives play in resistance and remembrance? And why are political alliances so crucial today—to share in collective anger, and to transform that energy into meaningful change?

Episode 4 [German only]: audio in the HKW Mediathek, audio on Podigee and other podcast platforms

Episode 3: Disintegration: Against Jewish Tokenism
With Max Czollek and Sasha Marianna Salzmann

In episode 3, Max Czollek talks to playwright and novelist Sasha Marianna Salzmann about the concept of disintegration: about its origins at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin and its role as an alternative approach to established notions of Jewish identity in Germany and beyond. Is disintegration an attempt to create a ‘post-migrant Jewishness’? Why did this work unfold in a theatre rather than in the German parliament, the Bundestag? What role do anniversaries such as the Victory in Europe Day on 8 May play? How has the meaning of disintegration shifted since Russia's invasion of Ukraine? And what can and should disintegration look like in 2025?

Episode 3 [German only]: audio in the HKW Mediathek, audio on Podigee and other podcast platforms

Episode 2: (Post) East German?
With Max Czollek and Sergej Prokopkin

In episode 2, Max Czollek talks to Sergej Prokopkin, legal trainee and anti-discrimination trainer, about the Post-Ost concept he helped to develop: about Post-Ost as a space for empowerment, but also as a platform for progressive forces in the Post-Ost communities. Who can take part in Post-Ost and how can the plurality of communities be brought together without being homogenized? What is anti-Slavism and what alternative does Post-Ost propose? And how does Post-Ost take up existing models of anti-discrimination—and develop them further into an urgently needed progressive political practice?

Episode 2 [German only]: audio in the HKW Mediathek, audio on Podigee and other podcast platforms

Episode 1: The Post-Migrant Decade
With Max Czollek and Naika Foroutan 

In episode 1, Max Czollek talks to Naika Foroutan, Professor of Integration Research and Social Policy at Humboldt University in Berlin, about the past post-migrant decade: about the origins of the term ‘post-migrant’ in theatre and art as well as its political relevance. Is the post-migrant era already coming to an end? Was the focus on diversity in many areas of society just a fad? Or is the relevance of post-migrant approaches now becoming more apparent? Max Czollek and Naika Foroutan categorize the achievements and challenges of the post-migrant movement and ask what working for plural democracy could look like in the future.

Episode 1 [German only]: audio in the HKW Mediathek, audio on Podigee and other podcast platforms