The German Experience of Coming-to-Terms with the Past: An Exhibition, Programme of Public Outreach and Teaching Materials in South Africa and the UK

德国与过去妥协的经验：南非和英国的展览、公共宣传计划和教材

• 批准号: AH/L006766/1
• 负责人: Stuart Taberner
• 金额: $ 10.17万
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2014 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FL006766%2F1
• 关键词: German; Experience; Coming; Terms; Past

This programme of knowledge exchange, dissemination, and the production of an exhibition and teaching resources draws on the findings of the AHRC major research project 'From Victims to Perpetrators? Discourses of German Wartime Suffering' (2005-2008). In that project, the complex interaction of narratives of victimhood and perpetration from the end of WWII into the 21st century was established: tropes associated with the Holocaust were found to have been instrumentalised within German accounts of what they had endured as the victims of Allied bombing, mass rapes, and expulsion, even as German complicity in Jewish suffering and Jewish suffering itself were marginalised. We also discovered, however, that more nuanced narratives have emerged since the mid-1990s. These aim for an inclusive juxtaposition of the complexities, and ambiguities, of the experiences of individual Germans and Jews while remaining mindful of how such a juxtaposition might appear to relativise German responsibility or Jewish suffering. Such narratives raise productive questions within today's globalisation of Holocaust memory as a model for coming-to-terms with injustices far removed from the concentration camps.Specifically, recent German fiction, film and memorials raise questions relating to 1) the possibility of empathy with 'ordinary' Germans; 2) the balance between recognising the ordinary German's 'absolute' victimhood (e.g. that he or she was bombed) and the need to set this suffering in the context of how Germans benefited from the racial state's exploitation and elimination of others; and (3) how opposing perspectives might be sensitively juxtaposed and so be able to generate inclusivity and dialogue without a blurring of historical accountability.These questions resonate in the post-apartheid South African context. Working with The SA Holocaust and Genocide Foundation (SAHGF), we aim to adapt our research findings to intervene productively in SA's efforts to confront the legacy of apartheid and, specifically, to contribute to the SAHGF's educational outreach with SA schools. The primary outcome will be a travelling exhibition for the SAHGF centres in Cape Town, Jo'burg and Durban documenting Germany's coming-to-terms with its past and prompting visiting school groups (and the public) to rethink their SA context, i.e. how can we square historical justice with reconciliation; how are the experiences of all groups to be narrated without relativisation? Our research on Germany suggests that posing these questions within agreed parameters (i.e. accountability remains vital) can in itself open up a difficult past to democratic debate.We will also stage public events in both SA and the UK. In Cape Town, we will organise workshops at the SAHGF for pupils and the general public to mark the launch of the exhibition and to prompt wider discussion of its contemporary relevance. The UK High Commission in SA and the British Council will also be involved. In the UK, we will work with the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre (Notts) to set the exhibition into a new context; we will launch the UK exhibition, with SAHGF and Beth Shalom staff, at events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 and Beth Shalom's 20th anniversary. In addition, we will collaborate with Leeds City Council and a Leeds theatre company on a three-month drama workshop for young people, based on the exhibition. At 3 performances and after-show discussions, we will engage city residents, with SAHGF and Beth Shalom staff, on 'global traumas' and their local significance. Finally, we will work with Beth Shalom to create teaching resources designed to deepen pupils' grasp of traumatic pasts and today's debates on historical accountability, racism and social exclusion. These materials, downloadable from the project website, will benefit pupils across a range of disciplines, in the UK and globally. We will also offer CPD opportunities for a postdoc and staff at our partner institutions.

这一知识交流、传播以及展览和教学资源制作的计划借鉴了 AHRC 重大研究项目“从受害者到施暴者？”的研究结果。德国战时苦难的话语”（2005-2008）。在该项目中，建立了从二战结束到 21 世纪的受害者和施暴叙述之间复杂的相互作用：人们发现，与大屠杀相关的比喻在德国人对他们作为盟军轰炸、大规模强奸和驱逐的受害者所遭受的苦难的描述中被利用，尽管德国对犹太人苦难的共谋和犹太人苦难本身被边缘化。然而，我们还发现，自 20 世纪 90 年代中期以来，出现了更加细致入微的叙述。这些目的是对德国人和犹太人个体的经历的复杂性和模糊性进行包容性的并置，同时保持注意这种并置可能如何使德国人的责任或犹太人的苦难相对化。这些叙述在今天的大屠杀记忆全球化中提出了富有成效的问题，作为与远离集中营的不公正现象达成一致的模型。具体来说，最近的德国小说、电影和纪念馆提出了与以下相关的问题：1）与“普通”德国人产生共鸣的可能性； 2）在承认普通德国人的“绝对”受害者身份（例如，他或她被轰炸）与将这种痛苦置于德国人如何从种族国家剥削和消灭他人中受益的背景之间取得平衡； (3) 如何敏感地并置不同的观点，从而能够在不模糊历史责任的情况下产生包容性和对话。这些问题在后种族隔离的南非背景下引起了共鸣。我们与南澳大屠杀和种族灭绝基金会 (SAHGF) 合作，旨在调整我们的研究成果，以有效地干预南澳对抗种族隔离遗留问题的努力，特别是为 SAHGF 与南澳学校的教育推广做出贡献。主要成果将是在开普敦、约堡和德班的 SAHGF 中心举办巡回展览，记录德国与其过去的相处，并促使来访的学校团体（和公众）重新思考他们的 SA 背景，即我们如何才能将历史正义与和解结合起来；如何在不相对化的情况下叙述所有群体的经历？我们对德国的研究表明，在商定的范围内提出这些问题（即问责制仍然至关重要）本身就可以为民主辩论开启一段艰难的过去。我们还将在南非和英国举办公共活动。在开普敦，我们将在 SAHGF 为学生和公众组织研讨会，以纪念展览的启动，并促进对其当代意义的更广泛讨论。英国驻南澳高级专员公署和英国文化协会也将参与其中。在英国，我们将与贝斯沙洛姆大屠杀中心（Notts）合作，将展览置于新的背景下；我们将与 SAHGF 和 Beth Shalom 工作人员一起在纪念 2015 年大屠杀阵亡将士纪念日和 Beth Shalom 成立 20 周年的活动中推出英国展览。此外，我们还将与利兹市议会和利兹戏剧公司合作，以展览为基础，为年轻人举办为期三个月的戏剧工作坊。在 3 场表演和演出后讨论中，我们将与 SAHGF 和 Beth Shalom 工作人员一起让城市居民了解“全球创伤”及其当地意义。最后，我们将与 Beth Shalom 合作创建教学资源，旨在加深学生对创伤性过去和当今有关历史责任、种族主义和社会排斥的辩论的理解。这些材料可从项目网站下载，将使英国和全球各个学科的学生受益。我们还将为合作机构的博士后和工作人员提供持续进修机会。