What does it take to repair harm in the wake of genocide? Join historians Lorena De Vita and Constantin Goschler at this hybrid session in the REPAIR Lecture series as they present the recently-published volume: Redefining Reparations: Wassenaar 1952 and the Global Politics of Repair.
The book offers a new interpretation of the historically momentous 1952 Wassenaar negotiations between representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, and the Jewish Claims Conference on reparations, compensation, and restitution in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The book draws upon contributions that span chronological and geographical boundaries to explore questions of diplomacy, redress, retribution, and the elusive search for reparation in the wake of mass atrocities.
Wassenaar 1952 marked the first time that reparations were the subject of negotiations between representatives of victims and perpetrators, following mass human rights violations and genocide. The reparations program that Germany established after the Holocaust eventually became a point of reference for many calling for reparations to deal with the aftermath of other atrocities – from colonialism to slavery – in contexts as diverse as Namibia, the United States, and beyond. Combining perspectives from history, anthropology, international relations, and transitional justice, this talk will assess the history and global legacy of these negotiations. Albeit focusing on a historical turning point, this talk will explore some of the dilemmas of reparative justice that are still with us today.
Speakers
Lorena De Vita is Associate Professor of International Relations in Historical Perspective at Utrecht University, where she leads the Wording Repair research project, funded by the Dutch National Research Council (NWO) and the Alfred Landecker Foundation Lecturer Programme. De Vita is the author of Israelpolitik: German-Israeli Relations 1949–69 (2020).
Constantin Goschler is Professor of Modern History at the Ruhr University Bochum. His publications include Schuld und Schulden: Die Politik der Wiedergutmachung für NS-Verfolgte seit 1945 (2008) and Compensation in Practice: The Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" and the Legacy of Forced Labour during the Third Reich (ed.) (2017).
How to attend
Date : Wednesday, 7th of May, 2025
Time : [TBD] CET
Place: University of Amsterdam, Roeterseiland Campus B/C, 5th Floor, Anthropology Common Room (B5.12)
Register: [REGISTRATION LINK FORTHCOMING]
Join us here: [LIVESTREAM LINK FORTHCOMING]
If you have trouble joining us, please contact Hanna Horváth - h.horvath@uva.nl
The REPAIR lectures
The REPAIR lectures are an interdisciplinary lecture series on contemporary reparations demands and policies around the globe. They are given by leading reparations experts and investigate how reparations claims and policies come about, how they play out from a political, economic and moral perspective, and what they may teach us about politics and economics today. The lectures are hosted by the REPAIR project, based at the Anthropology Department of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). They are co-sponsored by the UvA’s Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies (ACCS).