Theme:
6. Contested Pasts & Presents
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Conflict Legacies of the 20th Century
Content:
From Scandinavia to Southern Europe, there are numerous legacies of empires, monarchies and dictatorships, for example, from the Russian Tsarist Empire, the German Empire, the Austrian-Hungarian monarchies, but also from the National Socialist German Reich. Many of the material legacies were the subject of archaeological investigations. At some of the sites many relics can still be seen in the landscape, others lie underground. For example, battlefields (world wars, but also local wars or civil wars), massive (still preserved) war fortifications like the Atlantic Wall or the many internment camps.
Today's political map and borders in Europe run differently than in the early or mid-20th century, respectively many borders have been redrawn even after 1989/90. Today's archaeological investigations - partly in young successor states are carried out under different (political) conditions and general frameworks than 30 or 50 years ago.
Research questions that could be addressed in this session may concern the archaeological approach to such sites - also with regard to historiography and different narratives concerning such sites 80, 50,30, or 10 years ago. Research questions can also concern the context of the legacies, the structure of the legacies, the question of how to deal (today) with so-called contaminated (or dark) sites. In addition, the value of contemporary archaeological research in exploring new facets of the sites' history could be addressed. Of interest are also what historical narratives, what culture of memory existed at such sites and how these have changed.
Keywords:
conflict archaeology, battlefield archaeology, internment camps, historical narratives, legacies of the 20th century
Session associated with MERC:
yes
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Claudia Theune (Austria) 1
Co-organisers:
Timo Ylimaunu (Finland) 2
Affiliations:
1. Dep. Prehistory and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna
2. History, Cultural and Communication Sciences, Faculty of Humanities University of Oulu
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