Workshops & Conventions
The research plans and projects of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) require continuous discussion and in-depth academic consideration and fine-tuning.
The VWI workshops provide a forum for the in-depth discussion of the core research areas of the institute. These are determined by the International Academic Advisory Board in its position paper and in its recommendations, while the VWI also independently elaborates, formulates, and executes themes, ideas, and concepts. Externals experts are also frequently involved in the conceptualisation of workshops, with their academic institutions then moreover serving as partner organisations in the concrete event.
The format employed since 2011 – the date of the first VWI workshop – of employing a range of presentations partly solicited through a Call for Papers and partly through invitations extended to renowned experts for individual panels or as keynotes has proven most productive.
Beyond this, the VWI also involves itself financially or in content and organisation with various conferences which correlate with the profile of the institute.
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| The 1952 German-Jewish Settlement and beyond. New Perspectives on Reparations During and After the Cold War | |||
from Monday, 9. October 2023 - 12:00 Vienna Wiesenthal Institute, Research Lounge 1010 Vienna, Rabensteig 3, 3rd Floor
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Since the German Democratic Republic (GDR) ignored Jewish reparation demands, both Israel and the Claims Conference adjusted their claims to reflect the division of Germany into two independent states. West Germany was content not to take full liability for the past, although it still considered itself as the sole heir of the German Reich and the only legitimate representative of the German nation. In the settlement that was signed in Luxembourg, West Germany agreed to pay its debt in proportion to the size of the pre-1937 German Reich, thus leaving open the question of future restitutions from the GDR. No less complicated was the question of German reparations to countries, as well as to victims of National Socialism who now lived behind the Iron Curtain. Compared to other areas of German reparations, Central and Eastern Europe reparations were less examined. Ensuing German unification, a new wave of compensation and restitution to victims of National Socialism followed, including reparation demands from Eastern European states. These claims were late follow-ups to the incomplete measures taken in the years immediately following the war to restore property and make amends to those persecuted under National Socialism. Yet claims for restitution were now also made against Eastern European countries, challenging them to come to terms with their own troubled past. One example of this development was the Washington Agreement on the settlement of questions concerning compensation and restitution for Nazi victims signed between the Austrian Federal Government and the Government of the United States in 1994. Another one is the 2009 Terezin Declaration issued by 47 countries, agreeing on measures to right economic wrongs against Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution in Europe. The aim of this workshop is to shed light on and discuss previously underexposed chapters of the history of reparations and restitution in Central and Eastern Europe during and after the Cold War, taking the Luxembourg Agreement as a starting point. Due to limited number of places, we kindly ask you to register at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 2 October 2023. We will confirm your participation via e-mail. By participating in this event, you consent to the publication of photos, video and audio recordings that are made during the event. In cooperation with:
Programme
Monday, 9 October 2023 12:00 Welcome Notes Jochen Böhler (Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies – VWI) 12:15–13:15 Keynote Chair: Éva Kovács (VWI) Elazar Barkan (Columbia University)
13:15–14:15 Panel 1: Looking at the German-Jewish Settlement from the Cold War Perspective Chair: Daniel Siemens (University of Newcastle) 13:15 Lorena De Vita (Utrecht University) 13:35 Maya Mark (Ben Gurion University) 13:55 Discussion
14:15–15:00 Coffee and Snack Break
15:00 –16:00 Panel 2: Money and Memory during the Cold War Chair: Markus Feurstein (Claims Conference) 15:00 Iris Nachum (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) 15:20 Daniel Siemens (University of Newcastle) 15:40 Discussion
16:00–16:15 Coffee Break
16:15–17:15 Panel 3: German Reparation and the Iron Curtain (I): The Case of Romania Chair: Constantin Iordachi (Central European University / VWI) 16:15 Olga Stefan (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași) 16:35 Ștefan Cristian Ionescu (Northwestern University, IL, USA) 16:55 Discussion
17:30–19:30 Screening of the film Reckonings followed by a discussion with director Roberta Grossmann Chair: Gideon Reuveni (Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies, US)
Tuesday, 10 October 2023 9:00–9:45 Guided Tour in the Simon Wiesenthal Archive Kinga Frojimovics (VWI)
10:00–11:20 Panel 4: German Reparation and the Iron Curtain (II): Hungary and Yugoslavia Chair: Éva Kovács (VWI) 10:00 Borbála Klacsmann (University College Dublin) 10:20 Máté Zombory (ELTE University, Budapest) 10:40 Ana Ćirić Pavlović (ELTE University, Budapest) 11:00 Discussion
11:20–11:40 Coffee Break
11:40–12:40 Panel 5: Challenges and Legacies of the 1952 German-Jewish Settlement Chair: Iris Nachum (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) 11:40 Katrin Steffen (US) 12:00 Dani Kranz (Ben Gurion University) 12:20 Discussion
12:40–13:40 Lunch Break
13:40 –14:40 Panel 6: The Fall of the Iron Curtain and Austria´s Way to the Washington Agreement Chair: Philipp Rohrbach (VWI) 13:40 Brigitte Bailer (Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance / University of Vienna) 14:00 Nicole L. Immler (Utrecht University) 14:20 Discussion
14:40-15:20 Closing Remarks Éva Kovács (VWI)
Funded by:
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