Making Nature: A History of Environmental Design in both German States, 1950s to 1990s

• Applicant: Dr. Philipp Kröger
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History ; History of Science
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564248805

The project introduces the concept of “making nature” into historical research. It identifies a phenomenon in the practices, techniques, and knowledge associated with terms as diverse as landscape planning, design of the natural environment, reclamation, and ecological restoration. At their core, however, they all refer to the technical production of nature as nature. The systematic analysis of this phenomenon, which has so far only been examined in individual aspects, as a program of industrial societies reveals a third approach to nature in modernity - alongside exploitation and preservation. The aim of the project is to provide a new perspective on the history of societal relations with nature in the 20th century. As a contemporary historical study at the intersection of environmental history and the history of science and technology, the project examines the state institutes for nature conservation and landscape management founded in West and East Germany in 1953, as well as the knowledge produced there about man and nature. However, the project goes beyond the analysis of discourses and investigates associated practices. In other words, it delves into the actual production of nature. Central places for the latter - and thus central subjects of the project - were the devastated areas of mining in both German states. The project explores how gravel pits were transformed into swimming lakes and biotopes, and how entire landscapes emerged from the remnants of lignite mining. It seeks to understand the design processes behind these transformations and how these practices evolved over the second half of the 20th century. Furthermore, the project aims to uncover the knowledge of man and nature that influenced the design of the natural environment. The study traces the translation of nature into a techno-scientific planning object and its integration into political rationalities. The actors engaged in calculating the recreational qualities of forests or presenting ecological value analyses that served the design of the natural environment. Throughout this process, a "new 'artificial nature'" was created, as stated in an East German handbook, "according to the needs of the people." However, these needs were controversial. The functions attributed to nature included socio-technical ones aimed at the recreation and health of the population and thus the reproduction of their labor, but also ecological functions such as species protection. The discussion revolved not only around how to design nature but also around what nature actually is. Through the German-German perspective and the international integration of both states, the outlined phenomenon can be understood as a common problem and program of industrialized societies beyond divergent ideologies.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants