Widen the Circle Learning Day

Berlin, Germany, February 2, 2026; 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Meeting Point: Adina Hotel lobby

Widen the Circle has designed an extension of the annual Obermayer Awards weekend. In addition to attending the awards ceremony, participants see firsthand some of the powerful grassroots remembrance work occurring in Berlin and meet the dedicated and creative people responsible for it.

You will also meet participants from our innovative Berlin Fellowship, which brings together remembrance activists from the U.S. and Germany. They use history to counter racism, antisemitism, and other forms of bigotry, and confront the ongoing war on memory that is taking place in both countries. Learn how this cross-border community has influenced and inspired their work. Conversations during the day will take place in English.

Highlights

We will speak with Joel Obermayer, Widen the Circle’s founder and executive director, and Dr. Karlos Hill, a professor of African American studies at the University of Oklahoma and a participant in Widen the Circle’s Berlin Fellowship. They will discuss the importance of remembrance and memory work in confronting the war on memory and supporting democracy. Dr. Hill will discuss how the cross-border Fellowship has influenced and inspired his work. We’ll also discuss why this type of community-based effort is so effective and holds so much hope for the future.

We will visit the Yellow Bricks Project, a unique ongoing remembrance project at a local grade school. Elementary school students have honored the lives of 2,000 Jews who lived in the neighborhood by building a unique brick wall, and they add to it each year. This project has been going on for three decades and has inspired a national monument to the victims of lynching in the United States. (See the video with Bryan Stevenson on how he was influenced by the Yellow Bricks Project and remembrance culture in Berlin.)

We will visit the apartment of Marie Rolshoven, director of Denk Mal am Ort (Think About This Place) and a 2024 Obermayer Award winner.  Once a year, scores of residents in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Frankfurt open their homes to share stories about people who once lived there—Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis or members of the resistance. This powerful project started with stories told at Marie’s apartment. Marie will tell us about the program and its growth and impact, and share stories about the history of her apartment.

Important details

Widen the Circle Learning Day will take place from 11 a.m. until approximately 4 p.m. on Monday, February 2, 2026. Participants will meet in the lobby of the Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt (An der Spandauer Brücke 11 10178 Berlin). Participants must register in advance in order to participate. If you are interested in joining this free program, please email award@obermayer.us to register.