Cultures of History Forum (Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena)
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A new wave of de-communization has swept over Poland: streets and squares are re-named and monuments dismantled. In the cities and towns of northern and western Poland, that became Polish only after 1945, these measures are met with mixed feelings as they touch upon specific local memories of the post-war years. The article gives an insight into how local councils and citizens have struggled to comply with state history policy while also protect local historical identities.
The historical role played by the Orthodox Church and individual priests as both conspirators with and opponents to Ceauşescu’s rule continues to be debated in Romania today. Recent developments appear to associate the Church with a controversial movement that advocates for the canonisation of former political prisoners of Orthodox faith, some of whom were members of the fascist Iron Guard movement of interwar Romania. The article provides background and assesses the debate that spans issues of historical justice, memory and religion.
Buchenwald Revisited
(2018)
In spring 2016, a new permanent exhibition opened at the Buchenwald Memorial near Weimar. The article provides a critical review of the exhibition against the backdrop of previous exhibitions: the first which was opened by the GDR regime in 1954 and the second one after re-unification in 1995. Compared to these, the new exhibition appears less raw and more aesthetic in appearance. Moreover, it engages more than its predecessors with stories of perpetrators in addition to those of the victims.
The recent past is frequently the subject of heightened public debates in Poland. Historians receive considerable media attention, their publications and statements draw comments from journalists and politicians. These disputes invariably revolve round three fundamental issues: Polish–Jewish relations, opinions about the Warsaw Uprising, and settling scores with communism. The article provides a critical review of the themes and arguments in each of these disputed areas.
50 years after the 'Prague Spring' ended, Czech political leaders remain strangely silent in commemorative events. A gradual shift is taking place in the Czech national conversation about 1968, away from the strong anti-communist narrative of the first post-communist decades. However, the opportunity is missed to finally engage a wider public in discussing the political ideas and legacies of 1968 for the country today, leaving room for populists and illiberals to shape the narrative.
The 'Lex CEU' and the heavy anti-EU and anti-Soros campaigns that accompanied this legislative move against the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest in the spring of 2017 caused a major stir among both academics and European politicians. But what were its reverberations in the region? This special issue (FOCUS) of the state of academic freedom, civil society and liberal values in the countries that came out of communist dictatorships more than 25 years ago and to place the Hungarian ‘Lex CEU’ in a broader regional, historical and conceptual context.
What is really behind the growing popularity of Stalin in contemporary Russia? The article discusses different expressions of what has been termed a new “Stalin cult” or “Stalin renaissance” in Russian public and political discourse today, despite widespread knowledge and official acknowledgment of Stalinist mass crimes. It argues that short of constituting a rehabilitation of Stalinism, this phenomenon primarily reflects on people’s desire for stability and order.
Against the backdrop of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and its ongoing political warfare against the West, Lithuanians have mounted a social and cultural campaign to elevate the post-WWII anti-Soviet insurgents as exemplars of patriotic resistance and statesmanship. Yet some critics have pointed to the controversial aspects of this armed struggle. The article outlines the historical and cultural context to an emotionally charged debate, arguing for a full and frank examination of the traumatic past.
In 2015 the Serbian Supreme Court rehabilitated wartime General Dragoljub Mihailović, who had been prosecuted by a communist tribunal in 1946. The article places the protracted rehabilitation procedure into the context of both Cold War-era memory politics regarding the figure of Mihailović and post-Milošević transitional justice politics. Pointing to the highly politicized legal procedures of this case, it provides interesting insights into Serbia’s ongoing struggles over the legacies of the Second World War.
When the German historian and politician, Hans-Gert Pöttering, from the Christian Democratic Union/European People’s Party (EPP) became the President of the European Parliament in 2007, he immediately announced in his inaugural speech that he would like to see a museum of European history in Brussels. After ten years of preparation, the House of European History was finally opened at the beginning of May 2017. The purpose of the museum is to communicate to the public Europe’s common story, which stands above the 28 national histories, and to be a place for exploring and creating a European identity in the future. Can it successfully achieve its mission?