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.
Reset

Transnational Reconciliation and the Value of Transatlantic Civil Society Actors

“States cannot be tried before foreign courts because of their sovereign activity, for example, the actions of their soldiers,” claims Minister of Justice of the state of Berlin, Dirk Behrendt, …

The Age of Youth: Civil Society and International Understanding Since World War II

After World War II, various discourses emerged that assigned the “youth” and the “young generation” to an important role for the material and mental reconstruction of the postwar societies. These …

Shattered by Glass: Working through Memories of Kristallnacht and Shanghai

We should learn from this story of the Shanghai Jews. But we haven’t learned.

Herero Activists in the United States: Demanding Recognition and Reparation for the First Genocide of the Twentieth Century

Between 1904 and 1908, over 100 000 people were killed in the first genocide of the twentieth century.[1]  Only 20 percent of the Herero and about 50 percent of the …

Records of Shanghai: One Man’s Quest to Validate Memories of a Family’s Refugee Past

Eric Kisch is a historian.  Although he does not hold a Ph.D. and made a comfortable living as a market researcher, he is a historian nonetheless.  The signs are all …

Art and Reconciliation: Beyond the Borders

Relations between Asian countries are influenced by historical consciousness. The expression of that consciousness, which is extremely politicized in Asia, plays an important role in building or destroying modern relationships.

Securing the National Interests: The United States and Japanese-South Korean Reconciliation

The reconciliation process in Northeast Asia, notably between Japan and South Korea (Republic of Korea), is still far from being a success story. The governments of the two states have …

Documenting German and Japanese War Crimes prior to 1945: The UN War Crimes Commission

Dan Plesch’s new book, Human Rights after Hitler: The Lost History of Prosecuting Axis War Crimes, sheds light on the existence of a little-known agency founded amid the atrocities of …

Working for Reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians: The Example of Friendship Across Borders

Working for reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians is arduous but rewarding—it keeps providing glimmers of hope in a situation that often seems beyond hopeless politically, motivating us to persevere. …

From Kristallnacht and Back: Searching for Meaning in the History of the Shanghai Jews

When the Jews sought refuge from the Nazi regime, they were most often met with hatred and indifference. Most of the world closed its doors on the Jews, and, for …

Different Anniversaries, Same Purpose: War Memory and Reconciliation in Central Europe and East Asia (2014-2015)

The Case of Polish-German and Japanese-South Korean Relations Poland and Germany. Japan and South Korea. Countries that experienced the tragedy of war. Countries that are involved in different kinds of …