Suche
Mein Konto
Anniversary in Hagen: Homeland Association celebrates history and life stories!
On July 1, 2025, the FernUniversität Hagen celebrated 100 years of the Hagen Heimatbund with a conference and emphasized the importance of biographical research.
Anniversary in Hagen: Homeland Association celebrates history and life stories!
On July 1, 2025, an important conference took place in Hagen that celebrated two anniversaries: 100 years of the Hagen Homeland Association and 50 years of the FernUniversität. The event focused on the connection between local historical work and biographical research. Representatives of various institutions, including the FernUniversität, local historical culture, Hagen museums and the city archive, took part in this important meeting. Dr. Eva Ochs from the Institute for History and Biography (IGB) emphasized the central role of life stories for urban society and reported that autobiographies are among the most popular non-fiction books.
The conference was led by Dr. Ochs initiated and took place in cooperation between the FernUniversität, city specialist representatives and civil society organizations. An important topic of the discussion was the biographical approaches that can make historical research clear and thus applicable to local cultures of remembrance. In this context, Dr. Almut Leh from the IGB also deals with biographies that were shaped by National Socialism.
Historical questions and culture of remembrance
Another important point was Michael Eckhoff's announcement that the Nazi era would be discussed in this year's anniversary yearbook of the Hagener Heimatbund. In his lecture, Prof. Rainer Stamm examined the biographies of Karl Ernst and Gertrud Osthaus and their influence on the founding of museums for contemporary art in the region. Various historical figures and their influence on Hagen were also highlighted.
As part of the discussion, Prof. Felix Ackermann called for considering the symbolic capital of people or groups in historiography. Concrete examples of personal correspondence from the First World War illustrated the everyday needs and fears of the time and led to an intensive discussion that warmed up the topic of “home” and “life history” in the final round. This discussion also touches on contemporary questions about identity and belonging.
A comprehensive aspect that was discussed at the conference was digitalization. It raises fundamental questions: Where will archives be located in the future and who will be responsible for their management?
Commemoration and remembrance of the victims of National Socialism
Wolfgang Benz is planning a publication about the future of memory, which is scheduled to appear in spring 2025. The central role of the culture of remembrance for society is emphasized, not only to meet emotional needs, but also to deal with history rationally. Memorials should not only be places of experience and knowledge, but should also help to counteract group-related misanthropy.
The constant confrontation with the burdened history remains a task for future generations. The representation of all victim groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses and "anti-social people", is of fundamental importance.
In a broader context, memorial days for personalities from the historic German East are also taken into account. Well-known names such as Hanna Reitsch, Hermann Tietz and Alfons Nossol, who are associated with special years of birth or death, are repeatedly recalled.
The conference in Hagen and the culture of remembrance in Germany illustrate how important it is to anchor historical events and people in collective memory and to have the urgently needed discussion about our identity and our historical responsibility.