Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena

Publications of the Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena

The monograph series Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century, published by De Gruyter/ Oldenbourg, holds collected volumes emanating from Kolleg conferences and workshops, as well as monographic studies by staff and affiliated researchers. 

The four-volume series The Routledge History Handbook of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century summarizes the current state in core research fields from the perspective of internationally renowned scholars. Each volume is devoted to one of the Kolleg’s central research areas: Challenges of Modernity,Statehood, Intellectual Horizons and War, Violence and Oppression

Cultures of History Forum
The Cultures of History Forum is an online platform for actors and researchers in the areas of public history and memory politics to publish critical analyses and reflections about ongoing debates, museum exhibitions or public policy relating to the history of the twentieth century in the countries of the region of Central Southeastern and Eastern Europe.

Staff Publications

Fellow Publications


Kolleg Publications

Cover Image The Rescue Turn and the Politics of Holocaust Memory

Natalia Aleksiun, Zofia Wóycicka, Raphael Utz (eds.)

The Rescue Turn and the Politics of Holocaust Memory

Wayne State University Press
ISBN: 9780814350836
March 2024
410 pages

Examining the uses—and misuses—of memory of aiding Jews during the Holocaust.

This volume considers the uses and misuses of the memory of assistance given to Jews during the Holocaust, deliberated in local, national, and transnational contexts. History of this aid has drawn the attention of scholars and the general public alike. Stories of heroic citizens who hid and rescued Jewish men, women, and children have been adapted into books, films, plays, public commemorations, and museum exhibitions. Yet, emphasis on the uplifting narratives often obscures the history of violence and complicity with Nazi policies of persecution and mass murder. Each of the ten essays in this interdisciplinary collection is dedicated to a different country: Belarus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The case studies provide new insights into what has emerged as one of the most prominent and visible trends in recent Holocaust memory and memory politics. While many of the essays focus on recent developments, they also shed light on the evolution of this phenomenon since 1945.


Fellow Publications

Cover Image The Rescue Turn and the Politics of Holocaust Memory

Natalia Aleksiun, Zofia Wóycicka, Raphael Utz (eds.)

The Rescue Turn and the Politics of Holocaust Memory

Wayne State University Press
ISBN: 9780814350836
March 2024
410 pages

Examining the uses—and misuses—of memory of aiding Jews during the Holocaust.

This volume considers the uses and misuses of the memory of assistance given to Jews during the Holocaust, deliberated in local, national, and transnational contexts. History of this aid has drawn the attention of scholars and the general public alike. Stories of heroic citizens who hid and rescued Jewish men, women, and children have been adapted into books, films, plays, public commemorations, and museum exhibitions. Yet, emphasis on the uplifting narratives often obscures the history of violence and complicity with Nazi policies of persecution and mass murder. Each of the ten essays in this interdisciplinary collection is dedicated to a different country: Belarus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The case studies provide new insights into what has emerged as one of the most prominent and visible trends in recent Holocaust memory and memory politics. While many of the essays focus on recent developments, they also shed light on the evolution of this phenomenon since 1945.


Staff Publications

Cover Image The Rescue Turn and the Politics of Holocaust Memory

Natalia Aleksiun, Zofia Wóycicka, Raphael Utz (eds.)

The Rescue Turn and the Politics of Holocaust Memory

Wayne State University Press
ISBN: 9780814350836
March 2024
410 pages

Examining the uses—and misuses—of memory of aiding Jews during the Holocaust.

This volume considers the uses and misuses of the memory of assistance given to Jews during the Holocaust, deliberated in local, national, and transnational contexts. History of this aid has drawn the attention of scholars and the general public alike. Stories of heroic citizens who hid and rescued Jewish men, women, and children have been adapted into books, films, plays, public commemorations, and museum exhibitions. Yet, emphasis on the uplifting narratives often obscures the history of violence and complicity with Nazi policies of persecution and mass murder. Each of the ten essays in this interdisciplinary collection is dedicated to a different country: Belarus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The case studies provide new insights into what has emerged as one of the most prominent and visible trends in recent Holocaust memory and memory politics. While many of the essays focus on recent developments, they also shed light on the evolution of this phenomenon since 1945.