HomeThe Allied Withdrawal from Berlin

HomeThe Allied Withdrawal from Berlin

The Allied Withdrawal from Berlin

Le départ des Alliés de Berlin

Der Abzug der Alliierten aus Berlin

Conditions – Process – Consequences

Conditions – Déroulement - Conséquences

Bedingungen – Ablauf – Folgen

*  *  *

Published on Thursday, August 31, 2023

Abstract

En 2024 on commémorera le trentième anniversaire du départ des « Alliés » de Berlin. 49 ans durant leur présence aura marqué la ville dans son histoire, sa structure urbaine et tous les secteurs d’activité. La ville a été le lieu d’échanges multidirectionnels entre les diverses « communautés » alliées et berlinoises. La chute du Mur marque le début de la sortie de la Guerre froide en Europe. Après un bilan sur la présence des quatre occupants / alliés à Berlin, ce colloque analysera les conditions et la mise en œuvre du départ des militaires alliés ainsi que ses répercussions sur la ville de Berlin dans des perspectives multiples : qu’il s’agisse de l’arrivée de la Bundeswehr d’un point de vue militaire, ou bien de l’impact sur le paysage urbain, sur les évolutions démographiques, sociales, culturelles, ou économiques. Enfin, on s’interrogera sur les traces et la mémoire de la présence militaire alliée à Berlin depuis 1994.

Announcement

Berlin, July 10–12, 2024

Argument

The year 2024 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the withdrawal from Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany of the victorious Allies of World War II. For forty-nine years, their presence shaped the former imperial capital in ways still being felt today. During this period, the city was divided into four sectors. Initially, it was administered jointly by the four powers, and from the late 1940s it increasingly became a focal point of the Cold War, in which the city acquired a special geopolitical and legal status.

The presence of the Soviets in the East and the Americans, British and French in the West meant that the city’s structures were shaped by the victorious powers, so that it makes sense to ask which areas of urban life were not influenced by them. The fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989 initiated a process that culminated in German unification, the end of the Cold War, and the withdrawal of the Allies in 1994—a dramatic turning point for the former “front-line city.”

The conference will begin by taking stock of the period up to 1994, in which the four Allies were present in Berlin (1). Then the focus will shift to the conditions of the military withdrawal and its implementation (2). Finally, we will analyze the consequences of the withdrawal for the city of Berlin from various standpoints (3). These include the military history of the stationing of the Bundeswehr, and the social, cultural and economic history of the consequences for the further development of the city and its population. Then we will explore memories of the Allied military presence in Berlin since 1994, along with the many traces left behind. Walking through today’s Berlin reveals the topographical effects of the Allied presence. At the same time, Berlin’s districts, and with them the former sites of the occupying powers, have undergone fundamental changes over the past thirty years.

The use of the term “military presence” refers here not just to soldiers, but also to their families and to everyday relations between civilians and the Allied armed forces. As a consequence, we seek to look beyond the military arena and include a whole range of sites of interaction: Schools, businesses, cultural centers and other social or economic points of contact between the soldiers and their families and the people of Berlin. Processes of exchange presumably also existed between the Allied “communities,” which, we would propose, did not necessarily follow the lines of the “Iron Curtain.”

Another emphasis will be on the social structure of Berlin and the relationships between soldiers and the civilian population, which in turn poses the question of the complex processes of transformation after 1994: How did the withdrawal of the occupying forces affect the composition of the population? Can we speak of “Allied communities” before 1994? Or were soldiers’ and their families’ “Berlin years” a formative life experience that persisted after the withdrawal, for both those who returned home and those who decided, for professional or personal reasons, to stay in Berlin after their service ended? A comparison with other German cities may prove instructive here.

Finally, we would like to analyze how the concept of the Allies changed: How did relations between the former victorious powers, who had become Cold War adversaries or even enemies but now had to reinvent their network of relationships, evolve after 1989/90? How did the end of the USSR affect memories of the “Soviet” presence in Berlin? What did this mean for the various states that emerged from the division of the Soviet empire? This aspect has gained new relevance against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which raises the question of how we can appropriately remember the Soviet presence in Berlin after 1945 in future.

The aim of this interdisciplinary conference is therefore to bring together scholars from the fields of history, political science, sociology, demography, urban planning and art history to discuss these questions. This call for papers is particularly directed at younger colleagues. We plan to publish a conference volume. The conference languages are German and English. Travel costs will be covered according to the Federal Travel Expenses Act.

Submission guidelines

Suggestions should be submitted to Ulrich Pfeil (ulrich.pfeil@univ-lorraine.fr)

by September 15, 2023.

Please send a suggested title, an 1,800-character summary in German or English, and a biobibliographical note.

Advisory Board

  • Uta Birkemeyer, AlliiertenMuseum (Berlin)
  • Corine Defrance, SIRICE (CNRS. Paris 1, Sorbonne-Université)
  • Jörg Echternkamp, Zentrum für Militärgeschichte und Sozialwissenschaften der Bundeswehr (ZMSBw), Potsdam
  • Axel Klausmeier, Stiftung Berliner Mauer (Berlin)
  • Jürgen Lillteicher, AlliiertenMuseum (Berlin)
  • Jörg Morré, Museum Berlin-Karlshorst (Berlin)
  • Ulrich Pfeil, Université de Lorraine (CEGIL-Metz)

Organizers

Allied Museum (Berlin), Museum Berlin-Karlshorst (Berlin), Berlin Wall Foundation (Berlin), SIRICE (Paris), Université de Lorraine (CEGIL-Metz), Center for Military and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr (ZMSBw), Potsdam

Places

  • Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Friday, September 15, 2023

Keywords

  • Berlin, départ des Alliés, 1994

Contact(s)

  • Corine Defrance
    courriel : corine [dot] defrance [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr
  • Ulrich Pfeil
    courriel : upfeil [at] orange [dot] fr

Information source

  • Corine Defrance
    courriel : corine [dot] defrance [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« The Allied Withdrawal from Berlin », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, August 31, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1bpx

Archive this announcement

  • Google Agenda
  • iCal
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search