Varieties of Germany

Deutsches Historisches Museum
Pei Building

What is revealed when we look at German history “from outside”? This kind of a change in perspective is important in the current time of upheaval when it is necessary to take a closer look at the coordinates of German and European politics.

The seventh edition of the series Historical Judgement contrasts conventional priorities of national historiography with new areas of emphasis, throws light on unexpected aspects, and shifts relevancies: With views from Cameroon, Lithuania, India or Poland Volha Bartash, René Bloch, Philippe Depreux, Young-sun Hong, George N. Njung, Agnieszka Pufelska, Robyn D. Radway, Baijayanti Roy and Liliane Weissberg take a new look at German history, a history from the outside – from antiquity to the end of the Cold War.

The contributions appear in the new edition of the magazine “Historical Judgement”.

#HistoricalJudgement

Participation

Participation is free

Registration

Registration until 12. September 2025

Conference Languages: German and English, Simultaneous translation

The symposium will be recorded and made available online later.

Programme

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM Registration

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM Welcome

Raphael Gross, Stiftung Deutsches Historisches Museum

9:45 AM – 11:15 AM Panel I

Germani:
On the Use and Misuse of Ethnography
René Bloch
Universität Bern

“The King of France Is Emperor in His Own Realm”:
A Dispute over Prestige in Medieval Europe?
Philippe Depreux
Universität Hamburg

Becoming German in 16^th-Century Ottoman Constantinople
Robyn D. Radway
Central European University

Chair: Len Scales, Durham University

11:15 AM – 11:45 AM Coffee break

11:45 AM – 1:15 PM Panel II

Unwelcome Immigrants:
German Settlers in Colonial Pennsylvania
Liliane Weissberg
University of Pennsylvania

Forced out of Prussia:
The Expulsion of Poles in 1885 and Its Relevance Today
Agnieszka Pufelska
Nordost-Institut an der Universität Hamburg

Colonial War Unchecked:
Flight and Expulsion in Cameroon, 1914–16
George N. Njung
Baylor University

Chair: Julia Franke, Stiftung Deutsches Historisches Museum

1:15 PM – 2:45 PM Lunch break

2:45 PM – 4:15 PM Panel III

The Indian Legion of the Wehrmacht:
Between Political Calculation and Nazi Propaganda
Baijayanti Roy
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

Yaffa, Galina, and Hanna:
Child Survivors of the Nazi Genocide in the Belarusian-Lithuanian Border Region
Volha Bartash
University of Münster & IOS Regensburg

Forgotten Guest Workers:
South Korean Nurses in West Germany
Young-sun Hong
Stony Brook University

Chair: Matthias Struch, Stiftung Deutsches Historisches Museum

4:15 PM – 4:45 PM Coffee break

4:45 PM – 6:15 PM Commentary and discussion

Neil MacGregor und Raphael Gross

Chair: Ulrike Kretzschmar, Stiftung Deutsches Historisches Museum

Reception

The “Historical Judgement” event series is funded by Dr. Christiane and Dr. Nicolaus Weickart.

Contact

Christina Behrendt und Jenny Jakubik
tagungsbuero@dhm.de

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