Longing for Schimanski. On the Process of Deindustrialization in the Ruhr in Popular Culture

Wagner analyses the role of nostalgia in pop cultural representations of the Ruhr, Germany’s former industrial heartland, by looking at the example of Schimanski, a popular TV character. By analysing how he turned from causing political outrage in the early 1980s into being a cult figure of the present, Wagner aims to understand the function of nostalgia in representations of the deindustrialized region. Thus, she sheds a light on the significance of nostalgia and industrial heritage in shaping the changing perception of the Ruhr’s image. She argues that the nostalgia for the region’s industrial past is the result of turning it into a major resource for image politics, economics and the creation of a regional identity for the future of a former industrial area.