Heritage under Socialism: Preservation in Eastern and Central Europe, 1945–1991
Edited by Eszter Gantner, Corinne Geering, and Paul Vickers
New York: Berghahn, 2021
November 23, 2021, 18.00–19.00 (CET), Place: Zoom
To register, please send an e-mail to: events-hira@herder-institut.de. You will receive an automatic response with the access data.

Book Launch with Corinne Geering (Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe, Leipzig) and Paul Vickers (CITAS, University of Regensburg)
Commentary: Emanuela Grama (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh)
Chair: Peter Haslinger (Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe, Marburg)

How was heritage understood and implemented in European socialist states between the end of World War II and the dissolution of the socialist bloc in 1989–91? This volume offers a history of heritage within socialist Eastern and Central Europe, exploring national and regional specificities within the broader context of internationalization and the global processes that informed heritage discourses, policies, and practices in the region. It enriches the conceptual, methodological and empirical scope of heritage studies through a series of fascinating case studies that highlight the socialist world’s diverse interpretations of heritage and the ways in which they have shaped the trajectories of present-day preservation practices.

What makes this volume’s contribution to scholarship particularly insightful is how it sheds light on the ways in which actors from the region interacted with each other and how they were involved in the development of international discourses that crossed the Iron Curtain. The historical processes between 1945 and 1989–91 shaped the specific conditions of heritage management that continue to have an effect in many postsocialist countries and in international organizations today.

For more information on the book, follow this link. Details of the book launch event can be found here.

This book emerged from a collaboration between several institutions: the Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe in Marburg and the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) at the Justus Liebig University, Giessen, with additional support by the Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena and the Leibniz Research Alliance “Historical Authenticity.” Founded in 2006, the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the Justus Liebig University Giessen funded in both funding periods of the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments. At the core of its research profile lies the interest in the active discussion and development of concepts for the study of culture which it seeks to achieve through productive exchange with scholars across disciplinary and national borders.

Digital HIRA Book Launch is an event series launched by the Herder Institute Research Academy at Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe, Institute of the Leibniz Association. We have developed the series to support a vivid academic exchange and discussion at a time when personal contacts remain restricted. The Digital HIRA Book Launch brings together alumni, current HIRA fellows, and interested colleagues offering the newest results of our research to the broader public.