We cordially invite to our open lecture in Prague.
Location: Akademie věd České republiky, Národní 3, Praha 1, sál 206
The Nazi dictatorship, its crimes and its consequences were remembered, ignored and utilized very differently in West and in East Germany until 1990. The foci of collective memory have broadened and changed since the second German dictatorship, the communist one, ended in 1989/90. East Central European developments – occupation, repression, expulsion, exit from communism – have been dealt with, but other topics received more attention. Presently new tensions and conflicts are emerging, due to generational change, populist-nationalist challenges on the right and the rise of post-colonial narratives which are concentrating less on national and more on European or global responsibilities.
The lecture will deal with major driving forces, obstacles, conflicts and results of the discourses and practices, by which different generations of Germans have tried to relate to the burdens of a difficult past, or to stay away from this unpleasant job. It will grant particular attention to the role of politics and of historical scholarship. It will look on Germany within its European context.
