History and/or Memory and Their Political Consequences: Reflections on German History after Nazism and the Holocaust

Jeffrey Herf's presentation, "History and/or Memory and their Political Consequences:Reflections on German History after Nazism and the Holocaust," examines the subject of memory within the context of postwar Germany. While asserting that the German interest in memory is not unique, Herf discusses how debates over the connections between history and memory have shaped postwar German politics. He further raises questions about the importance of an anti- or apolitical preoccupation with memory and underscores how memories of the past continue to affects the present.