Prof. Frank van Vree & Prof. Rob van der Laarse
D.A. Duindam MA
dr. S.F. Kruizinga
prof.dr. R. v.d. Laarse
Erik Somers
ir. P.M. Veer
prof.dr. F.P.I.M. van Vree
dr. B.T. Wallet
drs. C.C. Wesselink
External Members:
D. Hondius (VU)
E. Captain (UU/Committee 4-5 May)
E. Somers (NIOD)
G. Jones (VU)
I. van Ooijen (VU)
K. Ribbens (NIOD/Erasmus University)
R. Futselaar (NIOD)
R. Hijink (independent researcher)
R. van Ginkel (FMG UvA)
The research group addresses the ways in which the memory of the Second World
War has developed and shall possibly develop in the future as well as which
position material and immaterial remains should have within this. The Second
World War took place more than 60 years ago. However, the memories of this in
the broadest sense of the word are still alive and well in social circles as
equally in politics and culture. Interest in the War among younger generations
has diminished less than people thought possible 20 to 30 years ago. The
significance attached to these events has also changed over the years. After
1945 the war has been remembered, portrayed an experienced very differently by
different population groups. These changes also reflect how we deal with the
surviving material and non-material remains, the heritage of the war.
The generative question behind this research program is: Which patterns can be
unraveled in the history of the memory, which impulses have continually fed the
remembrance culture right up until this day? Consequently, Dynamics of Memory is
not aimed at investigating the history of the Second World War but rather the
post-war remembrance culture in the broadest sense of the word. With the passing
of generations and the immense changes taking place in society (increasing
ethnic diversity and globalization) and in particular the cultural media
(digitization, visualization), the heritage from the Second World War will enter
a new phase. With this the 'guardians' of the heritage – government, heritage
remembrance and educational organizations, archives and museums, but also
artists and filmmakers – will be confronted with new questions such as what must
an open air museum or remembrance site do with the new generations that come to
their gates, generations brought up in a world that revolves around 'authentic
experiences'?
The themes tackled are related to diverse aspects of the historic culture: war
films, youth education, museum presentations, sites of remembrance, the passing
on of stories from one generation to the next, dealing with the heritage of
victims and perpetrators, and the history of the remembrance communities in the
former Dutch colonies. These themes will always be studied in relationship to
each other and in the light of developments elsewhere in Europe.
Monthly seminars and lectures, 3 PhD dissertations, 7 edited volumes, conferences, grant proposals for future research. The program is a collaboration between NWO's Division for the Humanities and the following organizations and funds: Kamp Westerbork, the Gevangenismuseum [Prison Museum], the Jewish Historical Museum, Kamp Amersfoort, Kamp Vught, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (War Victims and Memories Unit), the Ministry of Security and Justice (Custodial Institutions Agency), the Mondriaan Foundation, SNS Reaal Fonds, the Province of North Brabant and the Rothschild Foundation Europe.
The group is an NWO research line hosted at the UvA since 2007 (penvoerderschap). The activities of the first program (Heritage and Memory, financed by the Ministry of VWS, 2007-2010) have resulted in a number of publications:
Currently active and future programs include several smaller research projects:
Although the Second World War is sixty-five years behind us now, memories of this epoch are still vivid and alive, not only in education and research, but above all in politics, ethics and art, in the Netherlands, as elsewhere. However, the meanings conferred upon these events have dramatically changed since 1945. In the public sphere memory culture – be it dominant or alternative – is created to a large extent by professionals, in education and research, media, literature, cinema and museums, but also through a deliberate politics of memory, by national and local administrations and institutes. For this reason, this research project is closely related to policy and science. With a systematic and more wide-ranging approach it is possible to (1) Achieve greater scientific depth, (2) Support the policy of organizations in this area at a fundamental level, (3) Perform case studies which throw light on a variety of scarcely studied themes. Moreover, the first program achieved considerable societal impact and a diverse audience with a wide range of publications. The continued program will benefit from and extent these previous network and awareness raised by these publications.