Öffentliche Podiumsdiskussion: Rechte Geschichtsmythen. Eine Herausforderung für Gesellschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik

In the organizer's words:

Start: 19:00

Right-wing populist and radical right-wing forces are increasingly using history to support their world view. In Germany, Europe and worldwide, they are trying to establish glorified images of the past and nationalist myths. History is supposed to show national greatness and create a sense of identity - one that is often based on exclusion, authoritarian values and traditional gender roles.

This poses a serious challenge for politics, academia and civil society, as democratic actors are expected to formulate responses to these reinterpretations of history. It is therefore all the more important that they themselves understand history as a shapeable, political space.

On September 8, at 7 p.m., the Heinrich Böll Foundation, together with the Leibniz Research Alliance "Value of the Past" and the Max Weber Foundation, invites you to an exchange on the political power of history in the context of the ongoing shift to the right and its significance for democracy.

The focus will be on the following questions:

• What role do history and right-wing historical revisionism currently play in politics and the public sphere?
• Where are the differences - for example between East and West Germany or between different countries?
• How can democratic actors and institutions react to historical revisionism from the right?
• Are we experiencing a new politicization of history - and if so, what risks and opportunities does it entail?
• What significance does history have for democratic culture?

Program

Welcome address

• Jan Philipp Albrecht, Chairman of the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Keynote "Historical revisionism today"

• Volker Weiß, historian and journalist

Panel discussion

• Frank Bösch, historian and director of the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History Potsdam
• Constanze Itzel, Director of the House of European History, Brussels
• Katja Meier, Member of the Saxon State Parliament and former Saxon State Minister of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality, Alliance 90/The Greens
• Volker Weiß, historian and journalist
• Moderator: Christine Watty, Editorial Director and Presenter at Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Berlin

The event is part of the international conference "Re- | Visions of History in Right-Wing Populism and the Far Right. European and global perspectives", organized by the Leibniz Research Alliance "Value of the Past" and institutes of the Max Weber Foundation together with the Heinrich Böll Foundation.