The conference aims to examine the mechanisms and methods used in the political and social implementation of historical disinformation, the portrayal of the enemy, and discuss ways in which these can be prevented or mitigated. This will entail a (self-)critical analysis of political and scholarly dealings with history in various European countries. We shall also reflect on what happens when warnings from political and academic voices are not taken seriously enough, and on the consequences of the way in which attention has shifted from Russia to Ukraine.

The crucial questions to be discussed during the conference include the following: When is it appropriate not only to speak out in contradiction, but to engage in political or even judicial countermeasures when dealing with widely divergent interpretations or indeed the falsification of historical facts? Where do propaganda and social manipulation begin? What can or should we expect from ‘public intellectuals’ in times of war and crisis? How can we ensure that civil society is enlightened and immunised, while at the same time guaranteeing the free exchange of ideas and historical interpretations? How effective can literature and art be in this endeavour? Is it possible for the concepts used in public history to be properly understood, and what part can dissidents play here? What digital tools can be deployed to deflect propaganda and trolls on social media?

The event will be streamed online on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ENRS2012

Conference languages: English and partly German

Registration: https://cutt.ly/politicsofmemory2023register

Programme and details: https://cutt.ly/politicsofmemory2023

Organisers: European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS, Warsaw), Federal Institute for Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (Oldenburg) in cooperation with
the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation in Berlin and the Polish Institute Berlin

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Place: online / Dokumentationszentrum Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung, Stresemannstraße 90, 10963 Berlin