Transnational Reconciliation and the Value of Transatlantic Civil Society Actors
“States cannot be tried before foreign courts because of their sovereign activity, for example, the actions of their soldiers,” claims Minister of Justice of the state of Berlin, Dirk Behrendt, …
Documenting German and Japanese War Crimes prior to 1945: The UN War Crimes Commission
Dan Plesch’s new book, Human Rights after Hitler: The Lost History of Prosecuting Axis War Crimes, sheds light on the existence of a little-known agency founded amid the atrocities of …
From the AICGS Bookshelf: Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning
Timothy Snyder’s latest book, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, presents exactly those two narratives. His review of how the Holocaust emerged and evolved has been and remains …
Beyond the Numbers: Humanitarian Crisis Rips Europe Apart
It was supposed to be a light-hearted cocktail party celebrating the Munich Security Conference’s (MSC) special newspaper edition, The Security Times. On the evening of his signature conference, MSC chair …
The Comparison between the Recent “Comfort Women” Deal and German Payments to Slave and Forced Laborers
The Japanese-Korean deal concerning “comfort women,” formulated by Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and South Korean president Park Geun-hye on 28 December 2015, included a pledge from Japan to provide …
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From the AICGS Bookshelf: Dead Wake
With all the publications on the centenary of World War I that have emerged over the past few years, there has been a focus on the forces that led to …
A Step Toward Democracy and Justice
Hafiza Merkezi’s collection of information on memorial projects in Turkey highlights examples of memorialization among the many groups and individuals that have suffered harm or grievance over the past 100 …
A Modern-day Massacre
The 1990s saw the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the end of World War II when war erupted on the Balkan Peninsula. The war’s legacy continues to be a …
The Legacy of War
In the first half of the twentieth century, countries and nations were victims of an aggressive and brutal Germany. Since then, German leaders have sought to return to the circle …
Places of Memory: Speeches, Visits, and Sites in Three European Experiences
The twentieth century was a turbulent time on the European continent, and its history continues to reverberate today. In 2014 and 2015, nations across Europe marked the anniversaries of a …
Dealing with the Past in Spaces, Places, Actions, and Institutions of Memory: Site Visits
The guide for site visit tour was Elke Gryglewski, the head of the Education Department of the House of the Wannsee Conference. Conference participants visited the following sites: Wittenberg Platz …
Dealing with the Past in Spaces, Places, Actions, and Institutions of Memory: Conference
The meeting, supported by the Stiftung Mercator and organized by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and Hafıza Merkezi, comprised three different, related elements: a traditional conference of presentations …
