In the joint themed series "The Ends of War", the Max Weber Foundation sheds light on how memory shapes the self-image of different countries 80 years after the end of the Second World War.
London on 8 May 1945: Many people have gathered to listen to Churchill's victory speech and celebrate VE Day.
Collections of the Imperial War Museums, Public Domain
The end of the Second World War left deep traces in the collective memories of numerous nations - but how exactly do these memories shape national identity? With its expertise "on site worldwide" at the institutes abroad, the Max Weber Foundation (MWS) accompanies the remembrance policy discourse on the Second World War from an academic perspective.
Cover "Worldwide on site" for the thematic focus The Ends of War
Whether lecture, exhibition, conference or publication - in various formats, the joint thematic series "The Ends of War" of the MWS institutes abroad analyses the outcome of the war as a justification for current national and international policies. In Europe, for example, the focus is on the Holocaust and the liberation from National Socialism and German occupation. In Japan, on the other hand, it is the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In India, the end of the Second World War was followed by national independence - at the same time, the country is remembered for having the largest volunteer army, which was deployed in Africa and during the conquest of Italy. In addition, in some countries the end of the war did not mark the end of violence, but rather the transition to new conflicts and areas of tension, such as the civil war in China or decolonisation.
How the Second World War shaped Germany and Great Britain after 1945 will be the focus of the DHI London's hybrid event on 18 February 2025 entitled "Winners and Losers? Britain and Germany after the Second World War". Professor Lucy Noakes (University of Essex) and Professor Frank Trentmann (Birkbeck University of London) will show how both nations overcame the post-war period and redefined their identity and role in today's world. Click here to register for the event.
80 years after the end of the war, only a few contemporary witnesses are still alive. What traces have they left behind? What did they tell the following generations? And what did they conceal? With this series, the MWS institutes are exploring social and political history as well as strategies of remembrance policy and their criticism on the ground. Here are some insights into previous activities: In October 2024, the OI Beirut hosted a lecture evening entitled "El Alamein - Perspectives from Egyptian and German Memory" at the Museum Fridericianum in Kassel. In 2024, the OI Istanbul presented an exhibition of paintings by the German exile scholar Traugott Fuchs. The DHI Rome produced a video podcast to mark the liberation of Rome 80 years ago. Research projects on John Rabe Nanjing's diaries and the politics of history in East Asia are underway at the DIJ Tokyo. At the DHI Warsaw, an interdisciplinary research team is systematically recording the mass graves of the Holocaust in south-eastern Poland for the first time, to name just a few activities.
An overview of all events and projects organised by the MWS institutes on "The Ends of War - International Perspectives on the Second World War" as well as audio and video recordings are available on the MWS blog endsofwar.hypotheses.org. In addition, the special edition of the research magazine "Weltweit vor Ort" (in German) focuses on the Ends of War series. A mini-series of the podcast "Knowledge Unbound” and an event from the "Humanities in Dialogue" series to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war are planned for 2025.
Header MWS theme series "The Ends of War"
The Max Weber Foundation - German Humanities Institutes Abroad (MWS), institutionally supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, promotes research focussing on the fields of history, cultural studies, economics and social sciences in selected countries. It currently maintains institutes, research groups and offices worldwide. Thanks to its close proximity to the subjects of research and the exchange of different perspectives and approaches, the MWS offers the best conditions for excellent cross-border research in the humanities and social sciences.
