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

Compare or Not to Compare? Or How to Compare? The Problems in Contemporary German-Japanese Memory Discourse

Japan has struggled with the legacies of its imperial aggression for decades.[1] Neither domestically nor internationally has the nation been able to find a formula which would put the so-called …

Russia and Germany in Crimea: The Irony of History

History sometimes likes to play games of irony, counting on our short memory. One such irony is revealed in the context of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. In March 2014 Russian …

Enhanced Cooperation for Europe: Is there a Way out of the Impasse of Integration Politics?

The Grand Coalition just cannot get rid of the hot potato called Europe. The governing parties are arguing with great persistence about the solutions and answers to the European crises …

A New Kind of Reconciliation in East Asia?

President Obama noted in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun before his visit to Hiroshima that his presence was an example of reconciliation: “I will point out that Prime Minister …

At a Crossroads? German-Polish Reconciliation in Light of the Recent Changes in the Polish Government

June 17, 2016 will mark the 25th anniversary of the German-Polish “Treaty of Good Neighborhood and Friendly Cooperation,”[1] in which both parties expressed the will to close a painful chapter …

History and Memory in German-Israeli Relations: Varieties of Expression

May and June mark two important anniversaries in Germany’s postwar rebuilding and return to the community of nations: the end of World War II in Europe and the beginning of …

Remembering Japanese Journalist Yoshibumi Wakamiya, An Advocate for Reconciliation in Northeast Asia

Yoshibumi Wakamiya (1948-2016), prize-winning Japanese journalist and author who worked throughout a long and distinguished career to promote reconciliation between Japan and its neighbors, passed away on April 27 in …

Dealing with the Past in Spaces, Places, Actions, and Institutions of Memory: A Comparative Reflection on European Experiences

German-American Issues 18 AGI is pleased to present four essays that were inspired by an international conference held in Berlin in October 2015: “Dealing with the Past in Spaces, Places, …

Die Bedeutung zivilgesellschaftlicher und staatlicher Institutionen: Zur Vielfalt und Komplexität von Versöhnung

Versöhnung – verstanden als ein Prozess der Umwandlung von Feindschaft in Freundschaft und der Aufarbeitung einer unmittelbaren deutschen Vergangenheit von Barbarei, vielfachen Kriegsverbrechen im Zweiten Weltkrieg und dem Holocaust – …

Defining Dualities: Context, Content and Comparison in German-Israeli Relations in the Framework of Europeanization

German-Israeli relations against the background of Europeanization transpire at multiple levels. This essay begins with the context, and then turns to the content of the link between the German-Israeli relationship …

The Comparison between the Recent “Comfort Women” Deal and German Payments to Slave and Forced Laborers

The Japanese-Korean deal concerning “comfort women,” formulated by Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and South Korean president Park Geun-hye on 28 December 2015, included a pledge from Japan to provide …