Today, we are celebrating a festival of democracy. 75 years ago, on May 23, 1949, the German Basic Law was signed and came into force. As a result of National Socialist tyranny, the Second World War and crimes against humanity, Germany was divided. What we are also celebrating today, and what comes into focus here in Eastern Germany, in Saxony, in Dresden, is the fact that we have overcome the division of Germany and achieved almost 35 years of democracy as a result of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989.

Our constitution gives our society liberal democratic fundamental principles. It begins with a short but decisive sentence that defines its fundamental direction: “Human dignity is inviolable”. This refers to human beings in general and makes no distinction as to whether a person is a German citizen or a refugee. Protecting and respecting human dignity is an obligation of all state activities.

Our constitution is liberal as it grants us all fundamental freedoms, indeed it guarantees them: namely – and I will name just a few – the right to free development of the personality (Art. 2, para. 1), freedom of faith and conscience (Art. 4, para. 1), freedom of expression in speech, writing and pictures, and freedom of the press (Art. 5, para. 1). Essential for us as scientific and cultural institutions is the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of arts and sciences, research and teaching (Art. 5, para. 3.). And today, for all of us, because we are currently making use of it, the freedom of assembly (Art. 8, para. 1).

Our constitution is democratic, because it stipulates, as early as in Article 3 (para. 1), that “all persons shall be equal before the law.” It states the equal rights of men and women (para. 2) and protects against discrimination, because, according to the same Article 3 in para. 3: “No person shall be favored or disfavored because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith or religious or political opinions. No person shall be disfavored because of disability.”

This constitution is precious. It not only lays down our basic civil rights, but also regulates the democratic constitution of our state and its organs (Art. 20). In view of anti-democratic and anti-diversity populism and extremism, the lawyer and author Ferdinand von Schirach emphasized (during a speech in 2017) the importance and protective effect of such a constitution: “We gave ourselves laws. We created an ethic that does not favor those who are stronger, but protects those who are weaker. [...] That is what makes us human to the highest degree: respect for our neighbor. [...] Our only sure footing is the constitutions of free countries.”

I would like to sincerely thank you for being here today to defend, protect and celebrate our free democratic Basic Law. We are joining forces on the streets and squares of Dresden to take a stance, a stance for democracy and our fundamental rights.

Today we are showing: We are the many. We stand together. We stand for humanity, for respectful coexistence. We stand for a democratic society where human rights are practiced.

We do this together with many research facilities and cultural institutions in Dresden. At this moment, a large number of people are standing on Sachsenplatz, Wettiner Platz and Albertplatz in Dresden. We will meet with them, the three other processions, on the Altmarkt at 3 pm. Together, we will celebrate a festival of democracy there.

Since the beginning of this year, after the anti-constitutional plans for so-called 'remigration' became public, countless people have taken to the streets all over Germany. I would like to pay my greatest respect to those, especially the young people, including our students, who have organized these protests in Dresden over the past few months and are also supporting our event today. We were there, and we are here today. Once again, we are raising our voices in defense of our democracy, we are standing resolutely against hatred, propaganda and violence, against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, against right-wing extremist ideologies and historical revisionism. We stand up for cosmopolitanism, justice and tolerance, for human dignity, self-determination and humanity, for mutual respect and social cohesion. I am very grateful that you have all accepted the invitation from the academic and cultural institutions.

I would like to thank Rector Ursula Staudinger who, in view of the urgency of standing up and advocating for democracy, has taken the initiative to make the sciences, arts and culture clearly visible for our democratic coexistence in Dresden today. I would like to thank all the scientific and cultural institutions that are taking part. My special thanks go to all those who have organized this major event and have been supporting us throughout the day.

It goes without saying: In times when the buzzwords polarization, division and crisis of democracy are booming, the sciences are called upon to provide adequate descriptions of the present and develop potential solutions. Critical thinking, media competence, and the ability to critically analyze sources are more necessary than ever. And we need the arts to come up with innovative approaches and new ways of dialog that, like a seismograph, pick up on moods that are already circulating virulently or are only subcutaneously perceptible and thus serve as a means of understanding the conditio humana of our present. In the words of the French author and Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, art offers “an approach to reality that dissects it in order to make it more visible”. For Franz Kafka, a book must be "the ax for the frozen sea within us."

In our teaching facilities, research institutes and cultural institutions, we already embrace a spirit which is based on respect for those who think differently, live differently or look differently. It is part of our professions to be open-minded and curious rather than being skeptical of the unknown and foreign. On the contrary, we build on diversity and a variety of perspectives. As scientific and artistic creators, we seek out the new and recognize its potential – not only in relation to our own questions, but also in our collaboration with people worldwide. Diversity is a prerequisite and enrichment for excellent research and education, and plays a pivotal role in shaping our social coexistence. With their findings, free science and free art are the driving forces for living together in democracy and freedom.

As an academic institution, TU Dresden stands for a culture of dialog, critical reflection and scientific debate – even on controversial topics. Science is always geared towards dialog. Science thrives on thesis, antithesis and synthesis, on revision and debate.

However, science – and maybe art too – is being challenged and social cohesion is being threatened when fake news and fake science dominate the social discourse, and when supposedly simple solutions to complex challenges are being praised in our parliaments and election campaigns. It is a challenge to science and a threat to social cohesion when democratic debate is suppressed by violence, when people have to fear for their physical integrity because of their scientific, societal or political commitment.

It falls to all of us – and to science and culture as important pillars of society – to take a firm stance against this. As a state institution, we are committed to upholding political neutrality. However, neutrality does not entail silence when the fundamental values of our basic democratic order, such as civil liberties, human dignity, and the rule of law, are threatened.

We, who are working in the fields of science, art and culture, alongside the citizens of Dresden, are today standing up for the necessity of dialog and debate, for the profound questioning of theses, for the acceptance of complexities, and for dealing with them in a beneficial way. In the past, there have never been simple answers to societal challenges – and there never will be in the future. Science and democracy agree on this. To quote Richard von Weizsäcker: “Even if things often don't go fast enough and if we don't always find the right way at first, it is democracy that is most capable of bringing up mistakes, making adjustments, developing insights and reason in the controversy of opinions.”

We want to defend this democracy. The many people who have stood up to the right-wing extremist threat at numerous demonstrations throughout Germany in recent weeks have made a clear commitment and sent an encouraging signal. Let us continue to actively stand up for the protection of our democracy. Thank you for being part of it!