Cycles of Commemoration: Forced Labour in Europe during World War II. With the then-recent fall of the Iron Curtain, the whole of Europe became interested.
An international forum organized by Willy Brandt Center–Wrocław in cooperation with the Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future foundation (EVZ), Wrocław, Poland, September 27–30, 2017
Attention to the history of Nazi forced labour has waxed and waned since World War II. At the end of the twentieth century, academic and public interest in the history of forced labour was on the rise. A wide
range of institutions dealing with forced labour paid tribute to the victims and erected monuments and memorials. Not least of all the reasons for the resurgence of public awareness in many countries of Europe was the advent of payments to former forced labourers. As contemporary witnesses pass away, we are facing a critical juncture at which perspectives and narratives on Nazi forced labour seem to be changing and public interest declining. World War II is about to pass from a contemporary to a historical period. Despite the disappearance of the WWII generation, the subject of forced labour has not stopped being important and of contemporary relevance. Violence directed against the civilian population, exploitation of the occupied territory and its inhabitants, abduction and forced migration are only some historical aspects with relevance to present political developments in Europe and the world. The aim of the international and interdisciplinary EVZ-forum is to search for answers to some basic questions:
– How can we explain that certain developments caused attention to the topic of forced labour to wax and wane since World War II?
– What influence did these developments have on the collective memory of forced labour and its victims in Western, Eastern and Central Europe?
– How is this subject present in the public consciousness in the affected countries (e.g., in official symbols in various regions and villages)?
– Has commemoration crossed generations in the affected families, and in what form?
– What are the differences between how the subject is commemorated in Eastern and Western Europe?
– In different countries and cultures, what is the role of knowledge about the granting of financial aid to the victims of forced labour?
– Can new media, especially that addressing young people, give new life to the topic and help keep the memory alive?
– How can this subject be institutionalized in the educational work in schools, museums and memorials?
– What links to contemporary political developments and debates have arisen from commemorating Nazi forced labour?
– What new approaches to research on Nazi forced labour can we find, especially in gender history and public history? We invite experts in cultural sciences, social sciences, and history from Western, Eastern and Central Europe to submit contributions dealing with the broad field of commemorating Nazi forced labour, including forms of commemoration, commemorative cycles, educational programs or insights on the subject itself. Contributions taking a cross-country comparative perspective are particularly welcome.
