8 May 1945 and Russia's war against Ukraine - how can we commemorate the end of the war today?
The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War falls in the third year of Russia's full-scale invasion and thus in the midst of a new major war in Europe.
This event will discuss the questions that Russia's war against Ukraine raises about the memory of the Second World War.
H.E. Oleksii Makeiev, Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany
Dr. Nils Schmid, Member of the German Bundestag
Dr. Anton Drobovych, Director of the Ukrainian Institute for National Memory 2019-2024
PD Dr. Kai Struve, historian, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich
Prof. Dr. Gelinada Grinchenko, historian, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Oles-Honchar University of Dnipro
Moderator: Marieluise Beck, Center for Liberal Modernity
The memory of the war and the mass crimes committed by Nazi Germany, especially the Holocaust, became a central reference point for the defence of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, respect for international law and European unity. ‘Never again’ seemed, at least according to the deeply held conviction in Germany, to be the central consequence of the experience of the world wars. At the same time, Putin's Russia, building on a Soviet legacy, has for many years exploited the memory of the ‘Great Patriotic War’ of 1941 to 1945 and the ‘Victory Day’ celebrated on 9 May for its neo-imperial ambitions. It served to prepare and, since 2022, to legitimise Russia's war against Ukraine.
In this event, we will discuss how a new major war in Europe forces us to rethink the legacy of World War II. For a long time, Germany felt a historical responsibility primarily towards Russia, which it equated with the Soviet Union, but hardly towards Ukraine. To what extent did this contribute to Russia's aggressive intentions not being taken seriously enough in Germany? Why were Ukraine's historical experiences largely ignored in Germany? What consequences does the inclusion of Ukraine's historical experiences have for our view of 20th-century history? And what place should Ukraine have in our memory of the Second World War in the future? The event will also address the question of how Russia's invasion is changing the memory of the Second World War in Ukraine.
The discussion will be held in English.