The story of Dorothea Meermann

- DE

“Unveiling History - Transmedia Interfaces between Human, Space, and Time” supervised by Prof. Pablo Dornhege / HTW Berlin - University of Applied Sciences

Team

Sara Corso, Luisa Neuner

Media format

Zeichenfläche 1.png

Short description

On August 18, 1619, Dorothea Meermann died of torture in Bernau as one of 50-60000 alleged witches (accused of sorcery) in Central Europe. At the time, women in particular were stigmatized, persecuted and murdered as scapegoats for inexplicable crimes. The accusation was often not only social ruin for the accused, but in most cases also a death sentence. The persecution of witches seems to be a historical event that lies far in the past. However, the mechanisms of witch hunts can still be observed today, as Kai Lehmann describes: "We may no longer burn witches, but a fearful society does not shy away from defamation and exclusion even today". This project is dedicated to society's treatment of groups or individuals who are stigmatized, excluded or persecuted. Based on the story of Dorothea Meermann, a culture of remembrance is to be created and parallels to today's mechanisms of exclusion, such as scapegoating, hate speech and cancel culture, are to be highlighted.

Staging

  1. Scene 1 (on the left screen): Dorothea Meermann gives an overview of her life in the shadow of the witch hunt
  2. Scene 2 (on the left screen): User looks at a courtroom. The judge announces Dorothea Meermann's sentence. User hears the quiet voices of those involved in the background.
  3. Scene 3 (in the VR glasses): User is being followed. User is located in a forest. Behind user, loud accusations and hate comments that get louder and louder. User runs away from the comments. User is caught up by the shadows of the villagers in the form of faces in the fog. They pursue and condemn. User perceives the scene as Dorothea Meermann.
  4. Scene 4 (on the right-hand screen): The outline of a torture device that caused Dorothea Meermann's death can be seen.