Workshop Familiengeschichte oder Geschichte der Familie? Kontexte, Perspektiven und Zugänge einer Familienzeitgeschichte

KIT, Unviersitätsteil, Franz-Schnabel-Haus, Geb. 30.91, 012

12./13. Oktober 2018

u. a. Prof. Dr. Rolf-Ulrich Kunze

Workshop at the KIT Institute of History:

Family History or History of the Family?

Contexts, Perspectives and Approaches of a Family History of Time

"We should not shut the mouths of the elderly when they want to tell us something," wrote Walter Kempowski in the introduction to his 'Echolot', "and we must not put their diaries in the bulky waste" - however, this is often exactly what happens: Uncounted privately handed down source inventories are destroyed for lack of competent archives, and still many contemporary historians perceive the contemporary witness as an opponent who disturbs methodically disciplined discussions due to the lack of scientific classification of his family tradition.

In archives, family history is by far one of the most sought-after topics of all. With few exceptions, the histories researched there by private individuals do not take note of the methods and findings of either family history or contemporary history. Rather, they show themselves influenced by media conjunctures such as the presence of the topic of returning home from Soviet captivity in the 1980s (Albrecht Lehmann), bomb war in the 1990s (Jörg Friedrich) or the reconstruction of a war child and war grandchild identity since the 2000s (Sabine Bode).

Since private family history thus remains - from the point of view of professional scholarship - highly deficient methodologically and conceptually, it is little noticed by institutionalized historical scholarship. The privately transmitted sources on the family's contemporary history thus also remain within the family circle, where they are not accessible to research and are often lost in the course of generational changes. In fact, however, it is not only the family source material that offers an essential resource for contemporary history. The research work done by lay people could also give new impetus to contemporary history, since the "history of the family" of this era still has the largest gaps. Finally, the considerable interest of people in the history of their families also represents an audience for historians, the attainment of which cannot be sought only for strategic motives, but is also a concern of historical-political education. The generally observable changes in memory and recollection of National Socialism due to the noticeable absence of witnesses of the experience also pose new challenges for the history of family times.

The aim of the first Karlsruhe workshop on the history of the family in the 20th century is to examine the contexts, perspectives and approaches of a family contemporary history in order to find out which possibilities of approach are offered between family history practiced by laypersons and the specialist cultures of, among others, journalism, contemporary history, cultural studies, family counseling and theology.

Program: Workshop

Family History or History of the Family?

Contexts, Perspectives and Approaches of a Contemporary Family History

Friday, October 12, 2018

12.15

Arrival, coffee

12.40

Welcome: Marcus Popplow

12:45-13:10

Introduction: Rolf-Ulrich Kunze

The topic of war children and grandchildren

13:10-14:00

Family History Coming Out. War children and war grandchildren: Sabine Bode (cancelled)

The source perspective

14:00-14:50

Relationship Stories. Researching with/about GDR resettler families: Laura Wehr

14:50-15:40

Family photo albums as a contemporary historical source: Rolf-Ulrich Kunze

Coffee break

Contemporary history in family conflicts and community life

16:10-17:00

Family conflicts in family counseling: Barbara Fank-Landkammer, Karlsruhe

17:10-18:00

Families in community life: Case studies: Susanne Labsch, Karlsruhe

18:30

Dinner together

20:30

Evening Lecture. Homeland feelings of a cosmopolite: Hans-Peter Schütt, Heidelberg

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Families and local contemporary history

09.10 -10.00

Biographies in local and regional contemporary history, 1992-2007: Klaus Eisele (cancelled).

10.10 -11.00

Presentation of the M.A. thesis Trümmerjahre. Family Life -

How much everyday life is there in the post-war period? An analysis of conducted

interviews based on post-war literature: Franziska Sauerborn

11.00 - 11.10

Coffee break

Problems of the biographical

11.10 -12.00

On the difficulty of writing family history: Linde Apel

Documentation of life stories

12.00 - 12.50

Documentation of life stories and the Vienna School: Gert Dressel

12.50-13.00

Closing words: Rolf-Ulrich Kunze, Marcus Popplow

13.00

End of the workshop

Participants:

Dr. Linde Apel, Hamburg

Dr. Gert Dressel, Vienna/Klagenfurt

Pastor Susanne Labsch, Karlsruhe

Dipl.-Soz.-Päd.', Dipl.-Ehe-, Lebens-, Fam.-Beraterin Barbara Fank-Landkammer, Karlsruhe

Prof. Dr. Rolf-Ulrich Kunze, KIT

Prof. Dr. Marcus Popplow, KIT

Franziska Sauerborn, M.A., Heidelberg

Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Schütt, Heidelberg

Dr. Laura Wehr, Munich

A presentation of max. 30 minutes is requested, min. 20 min. discussion per topic is planned. Publication in an anthology is planned.