The History of the German Association of Historians and the German Historians Conference since 1948

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The History of the German Association of Historians and the GermanHistorians Conference since 1948 Except for the United States, nocountry in the world possesses an association of historians of suchlasting continuity and high political and social influence as that of theFederal Republic of Germany with her predecessor s states.Surprisingly, the history of this association, founded in 1895, has notbeen studied up to now, whereas smaller national associations andother historical institutions have long been explored by theirrespective historiographers. The task of the Verband der Historikerund Historikerinnen Deutschlands not only consists in routinelyorganising the biggest European humanities congress, theHistorikertag, which first took place in 1893 and for the 49th time in2012. The Association also protected the interests of the field andrepresented it in public: it allowed for internal communication amonghistorians, was part of the disciplination and institutionalisationprocess in the field, created international connections, addressedpresent-day questions, and competed for scanty educationalresources in the History department of universities and schools; thus,it also acted as a venue for conflicts with politics. Above all else, theAssociation s archive, which spans from 1948 to the present day,gives valuable insight into internal decision-making processes withregard to the field, into processes of networking as well as theplanning of the Historians Conference, including the decisions aboutadmission and non-admission of sections and talks. These questionsdeserve to be addressed in a problem-oriented historical analysis ofthe Association. The project narrowly cooperates with a researchproject in Berlin and Potsdam treating the period between 1893 andthe end of national socialism and focuses on latest contemporaryhistory spanning from 1945 to the present.