Negotiating History Across Borders


 

France-Algeria: First Meeting of the Commission of Historians


Five French historians must begin work alongside five Algerian peers on the colonial period, this Wednesday, November 22, 2023. The recommendation of the (Benjamin) Stora report taken up by Emmanuel Macron is taking shape, but the relationship between the two countries remains extremely sensitive. Read more






Annual Conference of the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission to be held in Warsaw ( 10.09.2023)

Early Modern Statehood and Society in the Ukrainian Lands: Forms and Concepts

The annual conference of the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission is organized in cooperation with the German Historical Institute Warsaw.

The organizational committee of the conference includes Prof. Dr. Miloš Řezník (German Historical Institute Warsaw), Prof. Dr. Yvonne Kleinmann (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg), and Dr.Volodymyr Sklokin (Ukrainian Catholic University Lviv).

Conference venue: Deutsches Historisches Institut Warschau, Pałac Karnickich, Aleje Ujazdowskie 39, PL-00-540 Warszawa 

Format: hybrid (online and offline participation possible)

Languages: English and Ukrainian

The German-Ukrainian Historical Commission is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. 

For organizational questions please contact:

duhk@lrz.uni-muenchen.de  / +49 89 2180-3056 

Mutual History Dialogue between Finland and Estonia

Historians Without Borders (HWB) organizes the first Mutual History Dialogue between Finnish and Estonian Historians, which discusses differences, similarities, and challenges of memory politics and interpretations of history in Finland and Estonia. Read more

A German-Israeli Historians' Commission examines attack during 1972 Olympics in Munich"


(09/05/2022) At the memorial ceremony in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, for the victims of the Munich Olympics massacre, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke of deep wounds and agonising questions. "It’s shameful that it took so long before there was any understanding or reappraisal of the events, transparency about them, or acceptance of responsibility for them," Minister Faeser said to the victims’ families, who had travelled to Munich for the 50th anniversary of the attack.

The Federal Government supports the victims’ families, who continue to this day to suffer as a result of what happened. "Finally, the events are being thoroughly examined by a German-Israeli commission of historians. This lays the foundation for a new and vital culture of remembrance," Faeser said. "It is true not only for this attack, but also for others, that we must treat people whose lives have been dramatically altered by attacks with greater empathy and support."

Read more here

"Common History" or "Shared History"? Progress and Lack of in Bulgarian-North Macedonian Commission, May 2022

After some progress in bilateral meetings was reported in April, now the Bulgarian co-chair declared the opposite to be true. One sticking point is conceptual difference over what history they are dealing with: while Bulgarians prefer"common history" whereas North Macedonians prefer "shared history." "The problem is that our colleagues are trying not to accept the term ‘common history.’When you do not accept the existence of a historical phenomenon that is even described in the Good Neighbour Agreement, because they are not talking about ‘common history’ but ‘shared history’, then there is an escape from the desire to make a serious critical analysis of one's own past. And this is the big problem." - pointed out Prof. Angel Dimitrov.  Read more here

Read the April story here.

An Algerian-French Historians' Commission?

Benjamin Stora, a leading French authority on Algerian history, was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron in 2020 to write a “report on the memory of the colonisation of Algeria and the Algerian War”.  The report was submitted in early 2021 and puts forward a series of new initiatives that France could implement to pave the way for a “reconciliation of memories”.  

Among other things, it calls for 

  • The establishment of a “Memory and truth” commission to “encourage joint initiatives”on history and memory;
  • The creation of a commission of Franco-Algerian historians tasked with shedding light on the kidnapping and killing of Europeans in Oran in July 1962
  • The creation of a Franco-Algerian commission tasked with establishing the history of the famous Baba Marzug cannon and studying its possible restitution
  • The revival of plans for a Franco-Algerian history museum; the organisation of conferences in 2021 (on African independence movements)
  • The establishment of an archival collection jointly held by both countries and open to the public.

On the question of writing a common history of Algier and France, Stora noted:

Clearly, these are two opposing visions that cannot be reconciled. But underneath these visions, there’s nevertheless a cultural mixing that has taken place, ties that have been forged, contact that has been established and a togetherness that has existed.... So, there’s still a history we can draw on, not as a way to bring about reconciliation, which cannot be, but to find common ground. If we tap into this history, we see that there are things that bridge us together and potential avenues for cooperation, and that allows us to envision a sort of future together, with the help of specific initiatives. These initiatives can take the form of paying tribute to those who were killed or went missing in the war, promoting literature, etc.

Click here for a full interview with Benjamin Stora

Georgian-Polish Commission of Historians

The bilateral group was established with regards to the 100 anniversary of Georgia’s proclamation of independence. The commission, which is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and the University of Warsaw, will be functional until 2021 and study the history of Georgia-Poland bilateral relations. According to a press release from the Georgian Ministry of Defense after a visit by the group: "The mutual national interest of two countries and similarities in aspirations of Georgian and Polish people was evident even in the 19 century. The founders of the Democratic Republic of Georgia were educated in Poland. In 1917-1918 both nations gained independence. By the end of the last century, the diplomatic ties between Georgia and Poland were restored and for many years now, Poland remains as an active supporter for Georgia’s territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic integration."