The monthly newsletter of the Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research Working Group at the University of Osnabrück By Benjamin Look & Jessica Wehner October marked the start of the winter semester 2025/2026 and was therefore entirely focused on the preparation and implementation of the first courses. The individual status groups of the professorship also took the opportunity to look ahead together to the coming semester. Our October issue of the newsletter reports on the diverse activities of the team. Insights The start of the winter semester 25/26 began with freshers’ week at the University of Osnabrück. On October 8, the format “Faces from History” by the History Student Association of the Historical Seminar Osnabrück took place. Within the framework of these events, the departments of the Historical Seminar introduced themselves to first-semester students. Prof. Dr. Christoph Rass presented the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research. In conversation with the student association, he provided insights into which historical personality he would have liked to meet (namely the historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot and the historian Barbara Tuchman) and what he finds particularly fascinating about historical studies. Starting October 13, courses at the university also began. The Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research addresses the Holocaust and its consequences this semester. Overall, our students have a selection from one lecture, three advanced seminars, one introductory seminar, and three exercises. In the first weeks, most events focused on familiarization with the historical context in the seminar schedule. … in the NGHM courses (Photos: Marlene Schurig, Hannah Spille & Bjarne Groß) On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the Osnabrück Film Festival invited attendees to a special panel discussion at the Felix Nussbaum House on October 11. Together with the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS) and the ThinkTank Migration Policy e.V., the question was explored of how cinematic narratives about migration, belonging, and identity have changed over the past four decades. Berlin filmmaker Serpil Turhan discussed with Prof. Dr. Christoph Rass from IMIS about breaks and continuities in the cinematic representation of Germany as an immigration country. Turhan, who herself comes from a Kurdish family and addresses questions of identity and migration in her documentaries such as “Köy” (2021), brought her perspective as a filmmaker who navigates between different belongings. Cultural studies scholar Aurora Rodonò, who works as a diversity manager at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne and researches Italian guest worker migration, had to cancel due to illness. From the “guest worker films” of the 1980s through the depiction of racist violence in the 1990s to current narratives about flight and integration: The discussion showed how the medium of film shapes societal debates. “Films contribute significantly to the interpretation and construction of reality and thus also to the perception of migrants,” emphasized Christoph Rass. “They have influential power, direct our gaze and attention, create visibility and invisibility, and are strongly involved in societal negotiation processes around migration in a visually influenced culture.” While Christoph Rass discussed the significance of migration histories locally in Osnabrück, Sebastian Musch dedicated himself to this topic in Cologne: The event titled “Never again on German stages…! Theater professionals from the Rhineland between homeland and exile 1945–1965” took place on October 28 at the Horion House (Cologne) and commemorated the famous Israeli actress Orna Porat (née Irene Klein from Cologne-Porz). The Cologne native emigrated to Palestine in 1947 with her husband, where her career began and she became a defining figure of Israeli theater. As part of the evening, Dr. Sebastian Musch gave a lecture on “Migration History(ies) between the Rhineland and Palestine/Israel,” followed by Prof. Dr. Peter W. Marx, theater studies scholar at the University of Cologne, who spoke about “Return, but where to? Jewish theater artists in the Bonn Republic.” The evening concluded with a moderated discussion involving Lital Porat, Orna Porat’s daughter, Dr. Sebastian Musch, Prof. Dr. Peter W. Marx, and PD Dr. Henning Türk (LVR Institute for Regional Studies and Regional History). The event was organized by the LVR Institute for Regional Studies and Regional History (LVR-ILR) in cooperation with MiQua (LVR Jewish Museum in the Archaeological Quarter Cologne), the Sister Cities Association Cologne – Tel Aviv – Yafo, and the Protestant Church Community Cologne-Porz. On October 28, Annika Heyen’s essay “‘A Façade for Inaction’? Governmental Actors, the Bermuda Conference and the Non-Rescue of Jewish Refugees” appeared online first in the Journal of Contemporary History as the first contribution to the special issue on Refugee Agency planned jointly with our Viennese colleagues. In her contribution, Annika Heyen examines how the Allies produced non-action regarding the rescue of persecuted Jews in Europe in the context of the Bermuda Conference in 1943. On October 23, Sarah Grandke (University of Regensburg) was a guest at the working group colloquium of the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research. There she presented the results of her dissertation project “Displaced Persons and Memory Activism. The Examples of Flossenbürg and Ebensee after World War II and at the Beginning of the Cold War.” In particular, the experiences of Ukrainian and Polish “Memory Activists” were discussed. History@SFB1604 Lale Yildirim and Christoph Rass, who jointly lead subproject A3 of the Collaborative Research Center 1604 (“You are guest worker children”), met with Gerhard Kromschröder to interview him for the SFB podcast and understand his intervention in German society’s handling of its migration-related growing diversity. For this purpose, they were guests in Hamburg at Studio HelloRobin, a partner of the Bielefeld Podcast Factory, which produces the SFB 1604 podcast series with us. On October 21, 1985, “Ganz unten” by Günther Wallraff was published. Almost exactly three years earlier, on October 14, 1982, another role reportage in “Stern” had already drawn attention to the everyday racism experienced by migrants from Turkey in Germany. The following year, journalist Gerhard Kromschröder published his observations and experiences in the book “Als ich ein Türke war” (several editions 1983 to 1985) with Eichborn Verlag. In 1982, Kromschröder had worked for several weeks in the role of an immigrant from Turkey at the sanitation department in Frankfurt am Main and explored the everyday life of people read as migrants in early 1980s Germany. Notes On October 6, the student assistants and doctoral candidates of the working group met for their regular discussion round at the beginning of the semester. Together, they reflected on the current situation during the transition between semesters and looked ahead to the tasks and challenges of the coming semester. Speakers were also elected again to accompany internal communication in the working group. Imke Selle takes on another term for WS 25/26 and receives new support from Hannah Foth. The team thanks both for their commitment! Already at the beginning of May, the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research, together with the entire University of Osnabrück, switched its online presence to a new website, which we continue to expand and develop. In October, Team NGHM supplemented the Study & Teaching section with additional information and offerings: Communication Guidelines page NGHM-UOS-Campus Navigator NGHM-Migration Research Navigator NGHM-Contemporary History Navigator. In October, the Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research team said goodbye to Steven Richardt. Steven supported the core team of the professorship since August 1, 2024, primarily in the areas of literature research and text editing. We wish Steven all the best for completing his master’s studies! On October 1, we were able to welcome Ilka Schwerdtfeger to the NGHM team. She is studying German Studies and History in the two-subject bachelor’s program in her third semester and now supports both the core team of the professorship and the project “The ‘Emslandlager’ as a Conflict Landscape in Transformation” as a student assistant. Ilka finds World War II, its causes and consequences particularly interesting in history. We are pleased to have her support! Blog Posts in October Jessica Wehner: International Workshop on Agency and Forced Migration at the University of Southern Denmark, October 1, 2025. Jessica Wehner and Benjamin Look: NGHM-Tracker (9-10/25), October 2, 2025. Jessica Wehner: Team NGHM@”Zukünftig digital?” Poster Slam on September 30 at UB Osnabrück, October 7, 2025. Team NGHM: NGHM@UOS Course Offerings in Winter Semester 2025/26, October 9, 2025. Team NGHM: Research Revisited: Digital Exhibitions on the Hürtgenwald Conflict Landscape, October 14, 2025. Christoph Rass: History @ SFB 1604 | Interview with Gerhard Kromschröder for the “Production of Migration” Podcast, October 21, 2025. Team NGHM: Research Revisited: Digitally Remembering Maly Trascjanec – Trinational Cooperation Opens Up a Forgotten Extermination Site, October 24, 2025. Outlook & Current Dates On November 28, the Chair of Contemporary History and Historical Migration Research under the leadership of Imke Selle offers a day excursion to the Esterwegen Memorial. Together with the student assistants in the project “The ‘Emslandlager’ as a Conflict Landscape in Transformation,” Lea Horstmann and Ilka Schwerdtfeger, students receive an introduction to the history of the “Emslandlager,” walk through the outdoor area, and have time to explore the permanent and special exhibitions.
This article is an English translation of the original German post: NGHM-Tracker (11/25)