belonging(s) – Property and belonging in 20th century German history

Workshop

Private property is a central component of modern societies with diverse social implications. In recent German history, the (re)distribution of property has thus repeatedly been a political instrument for shaping social belonging – from the property system in the German colonies and the expropriation of the princes in the Weimar Republic to the looting in the course of Nazi persecution and the attempts at “reparations” to the nationalization of business assets in the GDR.

On an experiential level, property has both emotional and symbolic meanings; it is an expression of one’s personality. From this perspective, one’s possessions – be they financial assets, works of art, real estate, or business assets – can also serve to embody one’s belonging to certain reference groups and milieus, to “the people” or to democratic society as a whole. The workshop will explore the reciprocal relationship between ownership and belonging on these two levels, with a focus on recent German history.

Hendrik Althoff, Department of History, University of Hamburg, is planning this workshop as part of the DFG project “Surviving Places? The Property of Jewish Communities between Robbery and Restitution (1930-1960)”.

With a commentary by Karolin Machtans on the representation of asylum procedures in contemporary culture.

How to participate

All information about the workshop can be found in the program below or in the announcement on H-Soz-Kult

The deadline for submitting paper proposals ended 20 October, 2024.