histoCON 2022: Shared Past? Divided Memories? | histoCON | bpb.de

Independence / Dependence

With the end of the Second World War, freedom movements became a global focus as former colonies gained their independence. At the same time, new dependencies were created: With the onset of the Cold War immediately after 1945, a global balance of power emerged that is often described as bipolar and which also led to huge economic disadvantages for a so-called "Third World".

The focal area Independence / Dependence asks what independences were achieved post-1945 and what dominances and dependencies persisted or newly emerged. It also asks how these continue to influence our lives today (politically, socially, culturally) and whether it is always so easy to differentiate between dependence and independence.

Conflict / Cooperation

The post-war period was characterized by efforts to set up structures to secure peace in the long term. The foundation of the United Nations and the adoption of the (Universal) Declaration of Human Rights aimed to create an organisation that would maintain peace and protect people against government excesses in the future. Nevertheless, violations of the declaration have repeatedly occurred. In addition to economic reasons, the same intention was behind the foundation of what was later to become the European Union: to prevent wars on the continent. At the same time, conflicts and wars went on regardless, and there was a nuclear threat.

The focal area Conflict / Cooperation asks how cooperation between states and political “blocs” developed over the course of history, but also how it was possible that conflicts continued to break out despite efforts towards more cooperation. We will look at how they emerged, whether and/or how they were resolved and how they influence us today.

Transformation / Continuity

Memory cultures are changeable but can also become entrenched. They can be inclusive and exclusive. Other important categories of social memory are gender, religion, social class, national/ethnic identity and generation. How we each understand history also tells us a lot about how we look at the present.

The focal area Transformation / Continuity is asking which transformation processes in memory cultures after 1945 were important turning points, but also which continuities persisted and still persist today.