Social and labor market policy is by far the largest policy area in the federal budget. At the same time, the welfare state is elementary for social cohesion. Since the German reunification, the social system has been in constant transformation, which in part also goes back to the end of the system conflict of the Cold War. Since 1990, fundamental changes have taken place in the German welfare state: from the creation of long-term care insurance (“Pflegeversicherung”) to the Hartz legislation and the introduction of a citizen's income (“Bürgergeld”). The panel discussion will sum up the development of the welfare state since 1990 from a political and academic perspective and will also address current challenges for social policy.

The 4th Hermann Weber Conference is a cooperation with the junior research group "The 'Activating Welfare State' - A Political and Social History of German Social Policy, 1979-2017" at the SOCIUM Research Centre Inequality and Social Policy at the University of Bremen, funded by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Yearbook for Historical Research on Communism, funded by the Gerda-und-Hermann-Weber Foundation.

The event will be livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung and will also be available there afterwards: https://youtu.be/3j8KzpshUI4.

Guests in the virtual space can contribute to the discussion by asking questions and making comments via the YouTube chat or the e-mail address veranstaltungen@bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de during the discussion.

The event will take place under consideration of the currently valid Covid regulations. Please note that the number of participants on site at Kronenstraße is limited. It is not possible to reserve a seat. We recommend wearing a mask.