About Us

Since the 1990s, there has been a proliferation of efforts to confront the "difficult past," including cross-national dialogue among historians from countries involved in past conflicts. In particular, over twenty bilateral Joint Historians' Commissions (Ger. Gemeisamen Historiker Kommission) have been set up in Europe and elsewhere. They raise important questions about the role of historians and historical knowledge in post-conflict resolution and reconciliation between nation-states. They also pose challenging questions about the production of historical knowledge at a time when universal truth in history is no longer self-evident.

This forum aims at bringing together information about joint historians' commissions or other similar endeavors from across the world. Through a comparative study of these cross-national dialogues, it is hoped that one gains a better understanding of the production of historical knowledge and their role in international society today. 

Support from the Institut fur Zeitgeshchite in Munich and the Niemiecki Instytut Historyczyny w Warszawe, Poland is gratefully acknowledged.