Unpaid Debts?

The German occupiers subjected the countries they invaded to systematic exploitation and violence – looting, destruction, forced labour, and murder – leaving deep wounds that persisted long after the war. How did this shape Europe’s long-term economic development? How are present-day claims for reparations and restitution being debated?

Isabel Heinemann, historian and director of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich and Berlin

Elisabeth Steiner, lawyer and president of the Court of Arbitration for Nazi-Looted Art 

Bartosz T. Wieliński, journalist and deputy editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza 

Legacies of Occupation. National Socialism and Contemporary Europe

The Second World War and the German occupation of Europe ended more than 80 years ago. Yet the violence experienced during that era continues to shape European societies to this day. At the invitation of the ZWBE, prominent figures will discuss this legacy in relation to current political conflicts, long-term economic developments, social coexistence, culture, and forms of remembrance.

This series of talks organised by the Documentation Centre “German Occupation of Europe in the Second World War” (ZWBE) will be held at the Deutsches Historisches Museum.

Moderator: Sabine Adler (Deutschlandfunk)

Location: Pei Building, DHM, 2nd floor.

All talks in this series will be held in German. 

Free admission; in-person discussion (events will be recorded on video).