Militarized landscapes - landscapes of memory: Practices of localized remembrance of the Cold War

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Florian Dünckmann
• Subject Area: Human Geography
• Term: from 2012 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 232340778

This follow-on project intends to broaden the perspective of the original project by including an East-German case study, convening an open space conference as a public geography approach, and allowing time for additional publications. So far, field work has been completed and some preliminary findings have been compiled. Space-sensitive practices of remembrance, i.e. public monument protection, museum work, and practices of discovery like geocaching, have been reconstructed. In addition, practice communities of lay historians and history enthusiasts have been included in research. It has been shown how they co-produce landscapes of memory of the Cold War. Also, the concept of landscape of memory, which draws on Theodore Schatzki's practice theory, has been refined. In this view, landscapes of memory are complex bundles of interwoven practices and arrangements. In emprirical research, it became apparent that West German landscapes of memory of the Cold War often relate to their East German counterparts. However, its themes seldomly reach beyond the topos of memory of the inter-German border. This is why an additional case study should shed light on East German landscapes of memory pertaining to the Cold War era generally. Additionally, research participants have taken on impulses to connect with other practices. This momentum originates in our focus group discussions and will be perpetuated in an Open Space Conference. The latter will cater for the need to engage different practices in a dialogue in the vein of the tennets of public geography and will allow fresh perspectives on the co-production of landscapes of memory of the Cold War in Germany.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants