The first conference in the framework of our “Wer ist Walter?”-project will include four panels on the history of resistance against Nazism and fascism during World War Two. Gathering historians, curators and other researchers from different countries, the main aims of the conference are to present and discuss new research on the history of resistance, with a specific focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France and Germany, in a comparative and European perspective, and to discuss about different understandings of resistance and about the relevance of its memory today.

Presentation

The conference will start and end with two special events wich are open to the public: the projection of the Yugoslav partisan movie “Walter defends Sarajevo” and the lecture “Walter out of memory” on 14th May at 19:00, and a round table “Who cares about resistance today? Perspectives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France and Germany” on 16th May at 19:00, which will close the conference.

The topics addressed in the four panels are:

1. “Where to resist? Mountains, cities, villages, camps – different spaces of resistance”;
2. “A secondary role? The place of women in resistance”;
3. “A transnational European space of resistance? Crossborder trajectories of resistance”;
4. “The good guys and the bad guys? Grey zones of resistance and collaboration”.

The panels will include case studies about different countries, and are gathering authors of the papers which will be published in Summer 2024 in an edited volume as one of the results of the “Wer ist Walter?”-project. These will not be full papers presentations, each panelist will rather present some main points and questions related to his / her ongoing research, followed by an interactive exchange between the panelists and the other conference participants on the topic of the panel.

The conference will take place at the Centre Marc Bloch (Friedrichstrasse 191, Berlin Mitte), with exception of the film projection on 14th May which will take place at Kino Central (Rosenthaler Strasse 39, Berlin-Mitte). In the morning of 16th May, the conference participants will visit the German Resistance Memorial.

Organised by crossborder factory (Berlin/Germany), the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo), CIFE – Centre international de formation européenne (Nice/France) and the Jasenovac Memorial (Croatia) ; in cooperation with the Centre Marc Bloch (Berlin) ; funded by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)

Programme

Sunday, 14th May:

• 19:00 - Projection of the movie Valter brani Sarajevo / Walter defends Sarajevo (OV with English subtitles) with lecture Valter out of memory, Kino Central 

Monday, 15th May:

• 9:00 - 9:30 Arrival and registration of participants at the Centre Marc Bloch
• 9:30 - 10:00 Greeting words /Presentation of the "Wer ist Walter?"-project and of the conference program
• 10:00 - 11:00 Marc Bloch, Germaine Tillion, Vladimir Perić: Comparing three histories of resistance in Europe - Lecture, followed by discussion
• 11:30 - 13:00 Panel 1: Where to resist? Mountains, cities, villages, camps – different spaces of resistance
• 14:45 - 16:00 Panel 2: A secondary role? The place of women in resistance
• 16:30 - 18:00 Panel 3: A transnational European space of resistance ? Crossborder trajectories of resistance

Tuesday, 16th May:

• 9:00 - 12:00 Visit of the German Resistance Memorial 
• 14:15 - 15:45 Panel 4: The good guys and the bad guys? Grey zones of resistance and collaboration
• 16:15 - 17:30 Presenting and discussing new publications about anti-NS/ antifascist resistance in Europe
• 17:30 - 18:00 Summary and conclusions
• 19:00 Who cares about resistance today? Perspectives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France and Germany – Public discussion, followed by reception

Participation modalities

Inscription for the film projection on 14th May and/or the public discussion on 16th May on the form.

Contact : info@weristwalter.eu

Lecturers, panelists and moderators

Robert Belot, Xavier Bougarel, Stevan Bozanich, Kolja Buchmeier, Boris Buden, Corine Defrance, Jelena Đureinović, Dino Dupanović, Uta Fröhlich, Yvan Gastaut, Elma Hašimbegović, Sanja Horvatinčić, Marius Hutinet, Hrvoje Klasić, Juliane Kucharzewski,  Dagmar Lieske, Ana Lovreković, Tim Lucht, Justyna Matkowska, Nicolas Moll, Christine Müller-Botsch, John Paul Newman, Robert Parzer,  Ivo Pejaković, Markus Roth, Alfredo Sasso, Ismee Tames, Fabien Théofilakis, Susanne Urban, Jakob Vogel,  Vladan Vukliš  and Matthias Waechter.