Every year on January 27, the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism is observed throughout Germany. The University of Bremen also participates with a memorial event to honor the victims.
This year, the central memorial event is being organized by the University Executive Board. Historian Dr. Veronika Hager from the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) will be the guest speaker. In her German talk entitled "Die (Un-)Mittelbarkeit der Erinnerung: Gedenkarbeit zwischen historischer Distanz und dringlicher N?he," she will examine the changing nature of remembrance of Nazi crimes in light of dwindling eyewitness accounts, new forms of digital communication, and current debates on historical politics.
Veronika Hager will provide insights into a field under pressure and discuss the following questions: How distant or how close is the Nazi past to us today? And how close do we allow it to come to us? What characterizes critical remembrance practices in the present, and what can they achieve?
“Direct conversations with eyewitnesses are becoming less and less possible for most people. At the same time, archived eyewitness accounts, historical crime scenes, and architectural and material sources are becoming increasingly important in communicating Nazi injustice,” says the historian. These records are sometimes subject to high demands for authenticity, while VR applications test the tangible proximity of the past and AI puts the handling of historical facts to the test.
At the same time, history is being heavily exploited for political purposes: “Revisionist narratives are increasingly entering the mainstream, and what was once believed to be a solid consensus is beginning to falter.”
Further Information:
Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism
Small Lecture Hall, “Keksdose” building, room HS 1010
January 27, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Contact:
Dr. Mandy Boehnke
Vice President for International Affairs, Academic Qualification, and Diversity
University of Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 218-60041
Email: kon3protect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
