[KS] Forced Labour during World War II as a Transnational Phenomenon. German-South Korean Seminar for Educators

[Frank Joseph Shulman]

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Subject: H-Asia: CFA Forced Labour during World War II as a Transnational Phenomenon. German-South Korean Seminar for Educators

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CFA Forced Labour during World War II as a Transnational Phenomenon. German-South Korean Seminar for Educators <https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/110916/cfa-forced-labour-during-world-war-ii-transnational-phenomenon>
by Tanja Vaitulevich<https://networks.h-net.org/users/tatsiana-vaitulevich>

Your network editor has reposted this from H-Announce<https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/108532/forced-labour-during-world-war-ii-transnational-phenomenon>. The byline reflects the original authorship.

Type:
Workshop
Date:
August 14, 2016
Location:
Germany
Subject Fields:
Public History, German History / Studies, Immigration & Migration History / Studies, Slavery, Southeast Asian History / Studies

This seminar shall provide a forum for young educators from Germany and South Korea to exchange ideas on methods and teaching practices and learn more about the topic of forced labour in a historical context from a transnational perspective. A comparative approach should contribute to making multidirectional memories and thus encourage mutual understanding beyond the border.

The history of Nazi forced labour is a history of forced migration of an unprecedented scale. As part of the total war strategy Germany decided to shift the war costs to the populations of conquered foreign territories and thus spare their own people from hardships and social unrest. To this end Ausländereinsatz (the deployment of foreigners) was implemented, which revealed strong contradictions between economic needs and the ideological doctrine of the racial purity of the Nazi regime. As a result, approximately 13 million women and men from all across Europe worked in all parts of the German Reich during WWII. Most of them were accommodated in poor barracks and camps, malnourished and held back from returning to their home countries. Moreover, forced labourers were employed all over the Reich making it one of the largest public crimes in history which was not acknowledged as such among large parts of the population for a very long time. More than 50 years passed before the German society dealt with the topic of forced labour and a small compensation was paid to some of the victims.

The history of forced labour during WWII was not solely restricted to the actual German but likewise affected all territories occupied by the Germans and their Allies during World War II. For many years South Korea has silenced the topic of “comfort women” - thousands of girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army before and during WWII. The legacy of forced labour and other World War II atrocities in the Japanese empire is a controversial political issue, which has been a serious impediment to Japanese-South Korean relations.

The aim of this seminar is (1) to discuss contemporary challenges facing history educators in Germany and South Korea, with particular emphasis on teaching the history of forced labour during WWII (2) to familiarise the participants with teaching and research trends on forced labour during WWII (3) to encourage the exchange of ideas for partnered projects between German and South Korean participants and staff members.

Participants (preferably under 35 years old):
Germany: 3 museum professionals (they should be associated with a German museum, memorial site or a documentation centre) and 3 high school history teachers. Advanced students who plan to work in a museum or teach history in high schools are also welcome to apply.
South Korea: 3 museum professionals/educators, 3 history teachers.

Financial Conditions: the participation in the seminar for German participants costs 80 euros and includes:
Week 1 (Berlin): meals will be provided for all the participants. The German participants will organize their own transport and accommodation. Assistance can be provided to the participants outside Berlin.
Week 2 (Seoul): meals will be provided for all the participants. The organizers will cover the costs of travel (up to a maximum of 800 euros) and accommodation for German participants.
Those who cannot afford paying the participation fee are still encouraged to apply. The fee can be waived based on financial need and merit. Please, state it in your application.

Program

The seminar will comprise 2 parts:
Week 1 in Berlin (14-21 August 2016) and Week 2 in Seoul (9-16 April 2017, to be confirmed with the participants). The preference will be given to the participants who can take part in both parts of the program.

Seminar topics will include the following:
-free and unfree labour – definitions and debates;
-forced labour during the WWII in transnational context: forced labour in Nazi Germany, -forced labour in Southeast Asia;
-forced labour and gender;
-postwar history: repatriation, compensation debates, remembrance culture in transnational perspective;
-methodological questions: the role of public history, teaching the history of forced labour, the relationship between museums and schools.

The participants will be asked to come prepared and actively participate in the discussions. They will have an opportunity to deliver a presentation about their work on a topic related to the seminar theme. The program will be enhanced by study visits to other museums and places of interest in Berlin and in Seoul. Furthermore, it should give time and opportunity for participants to get to know each other and discuss a wide range of topics such as schools, education systems in Germany and in South Korea and others. At the end of the seminar the participants will develop a short reader which can be used in museums and schools in both Germany and South Korea.

Application (for German participants): please, send a short CV (1-2 pages) and a motivation letter to Tanja Vaitulevich Vaitulevich at topographie.de<mailto:Vaitulevich at topographie.de>

Deadline 14.02.2016. The decisions will be announced in March 2016.

Contact Info:

Nazi Forced Labour Documentation Centre, Berlin/Sogang University, Seoul

Tanja Vaitulevich Britzer Strasse 5 12439 Berlin

Contact Email:
vaitulevich at topographie.de<mailto:vaitulevich at topographie.de>
URL:
http://www.dz-ns-zwangsarbeit.de/en/current/

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