AGI

Memory Politics

Germany’s approach to acknowledging and providing redress for past crimes has offered other nations around the world a guide to reconciliation. While Germany’s efforts resulted from a unique situation and are not considered a blueprint for other nations to emulate, they have nevertheless informed and impacted other countries dealing with the difficult processes of memory, commemoration, and rebuilding bilateral relationships.
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The Federal Republic’s Political and Societal Responses to Auschwitz

To stand here today and address you as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is far from easy. I am filled with a deep shame at the barbaric crimes …

Keeping History Alive: 75 Years after the Liberation of Auschwitz

One of the negative icons of the twentieth century was the Holocaust—the Nazi German persecution and murder of approximately 6 million Jewish people in Europe during World War II from …

The 100th Anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles

Among the many important dates that we largely overlooked is the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty that ended the state of war between Germany and the …

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Life and Message of Raymonde Fiol

A Call from the Past It was a Saturday in 2007. Raymonde Fiol was sitting on a sofa in her home in Las Vegas. The phone rang. She answered. The …

The Afghanistan War: Collective Memory Formation in the United States and Germany

Introduction More than eighteen years have passed since October 2001, when U.S. forces were deployed to Afghanistan after the Taliban regime refused to extradite Osama bin Laden and shut down …

The Afghanistan War: Collective Memory Formation in the United States and Germany

More than eighteen years have passed since October 2001, when U.S. forces were deployed to Afghanistan after the Taliban regime refused to extradite Osama bin Laden and shut down Al-Qaeda …

The Unbroken Past: From Germany to Shanghai to San Francisco

Kurt and Jeannette Nothenberg lived comfortably in the middle class in Germany raising their only child, Rudy.  Following Kristallnacht, Kurt was arrested and sent to Buchenwald, but was later released …

The September 1952 Reparations Agreement between West Germany and Israel: The Beginning of a Remarkable Friendship

The thorny issue of reparations for war-time crimes against humanity, material losses, despoliation, and human rights abuses has dominated the political sphere in the last several months. On the international …

Transitional Justice as a Foreign Policy Issue across the Atlantic: Trends and Counter-trends

Transitional justice either describes a socio-political process in transitional societies after conflict or authoritarian rule or a set of measures that should facilitate this process. The process in general and …

Transitional Justice as a Foreign Policy Issue across the Atlantic: Trends and Counter-trends

Transitional justice either describes a socio-political process in transitional societies after conflict or authoritarian rule or a set of measures that should facilitate this process. The process in general and …

Marking the Polish-German Treaty of Good Neighborhood and Friendly Cooperation

On June 17, 1991, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland signed a treaty vowing to be good neighbors: to respect national boundaries and to contribute to …

Global Transitional Justice

Strategies, Trends, and Counter-Trends across the Atlantic Seeking justice for past atrocities has become a standard practice for countries after conflict or violent rule. These transitional justice processes are often …