Memorials in the modern age: How social media shapes the culture of remembrance

Memorials in the modern age: How social media shapes the culture of remembrance

As part of the upcoming lecture series at the University of Vechta in June 2025, central topics of memorial work will be discussed. This series of lectures, given by Prof. Dr. Eugen Kotte and Hannah Sandstede, M.A., addresses the question of remembrance and the development of historical awareness in a changing society. The kick-off will take place on June 5, 2025, when Dr. Iris Groschek illuminates the communication strategies of memorials on social media with her lecture "#WeRemember #RightNow - or not? How memorials on social media want to reach the GenZ".

Groschek, who is responsible for public relations and social media at the Hamburg Memorials and Learning Places Foundation, describes in her lecture the new role that social media plays in conveying historical content. The Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial, where she previously worked, has become active on social networks in recent years to discuss both historical topics and current developments. According to Groschek, this form of communication enables interactive engagement with visitors and contributes to direct participation. She found that younger participants were particularly active and increasingly used new formats such as tweetups.

Including memorial education

The second part of the lecture series will take place on June 19, 2025 and will be designed by Lisa Quaeschning and Katrin König. Their topic, “Inclusive Memorial Education,” sheds light on the Brandenburg memorials and their efforts to include people with disabilities in their work. Among other things, training programs for the training of guides are discussed here. The aim is to create a barrier-free and participatory form of historical education that is also accessible to people with disabilities.

In their work, the speakers strive to create awareness of the need for inclusive historical awareness. The relevance of this topic is reinforced by the increasing discussion about accessibility and participation.

Challenges for memorial work

The series concludes with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Eugen Kotte on June 26, 2025, who addresses the question of how memorial sites can contribute to historical learning. Based on surveys of students about their visits to memorial sites, Kotte examines methodological approaches to sensitize young people to history and encourage them to engage with the history of crimes committed by National Socialism.

This series of lectures also reflects the current trend of integrating social media into memorial education. In her master's thesis from 2022, Rebecca Starke even goes so far as to say that digitalization will be a central element in future memorial work. Their research suggests that social media integration brings with it both opportunities and challenges, such as the tendency to post inappropriately or deal with hate speech.

Memorials have a responsibility to take advantage of the benefits of interactive media while remaining mindful of the risks. Groschek and Starke both emphasize that a critical examination of the use of social media is necessary in order to ensure a respectful approach to the culture of remembrance.

The events at the University of Vechta are a step in this direction. All lectures take place on Thursdays at 6 p.m. in lecture hall Q 15 and provide a forum for discussion about the challenges and opportunities in future memorial work. mynewsdesk.com reports that…, musermeku.org highlights that…, The Freiburg University of Education documents that....