Confronting the Past: Changing Narratives in the U.S. and Germany

Please join us on Saturday, June 10, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time for a live webcast from Berlin:

Confronting the Past: Changing Narratives in the U.S. and Germany

We’ll explore the many influences that shape how we perceive history, such as how narratives change with each generation, how new research can shape historical narratives, and how local demographics and the political landscape influence how history is seen. How should we tell stories of genocide and violence? Whose voices should be included? And who should make decisions about how history is told through public monuments, museums, and memory sites?

This special event is part of Widen the Circle’s International Bridge Building program. Activists from both countries are gathering to share insights and approaches about the importance of remembrance work in framing national discussions and combating hate. While the issues and challenges differ in each country, there is much that we can learn from each other. 

Panelists

Lisa Bratton is an associate professor of history at the Tuskegee University in Alabama and a leader of the Tuskegee Airmen oral history project. Her research focuses on the area’s legacy of slavery, including her own family’s history of enslavement. 

Veronika Nahm is director of the Anne Frank Center in Berlin. She is an expert in historical learning in primary schools, particularly the link between historical learning and human rights education. She also focuses on the role of pedagogical work in combating antisemitism and other forms of discrimination.

Steve Murray is director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. He has a well earned national reputation for openness regarding the agency’s past actions. The 2020 Statement of Commitment openly addressed its history of supporting racial discrimination. In 2022, the agency announced it would seek to return a vast collection of Native American artifacts and human remains taken from Native American burial grounds.

Marc Skvirsky, moderator, is vice president emeritus of Facing History and Ourselves, an international organization that uses the lessons of history to challenge teachers and students to stand up to bigotry and hate.