CfP, Moderator and Commentator for Panel: Rethinking Germany – Post-World War II Mass Media Perspectives on National Identity (German Studies Association Conference 2025)
Arlington, Virgina
Organization: German Studies Association
Event: German Studies Association Conference 2025
We’re excited to share that we’re organizing a panel for the GSA Conference 2025, which will take place from September 25 to 28, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.
The Nuremberg Trials marked a watershed moment for international law and justice, particularly in establishing accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. With the trials being broadcast publicly and internationally, mass media played a crucial role in shaping postwar discourse, particularly in a divided Germany. Beyond that, in the immediate postwar era, from 1945 to 1949, a plethora of newspapers emerged in the western zones, including Die Neue Zeitung (targeted at German audiences in the American Occupation Zone) and Neue Musik (which fostered a postwar music identity). Throughout the Federal Republic’s existence, its press of reference – such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Der Spiegel –, became central in shaping German public opinion, covering issues ranging from political controversies to armed conflicts. These considerations spark an important question: What can contemporary societies learn from debates held by German mass media across different historical periods, and, further, what do these debates reveal about German identity during these times?
This panel seeks to examine the role of public mass media in shaping Germany’s national identity from the post-WWII era through the post-Cold War period. In this interdisciplinary and trans-chronological panel, we (1) explore how West German mass media supported the rehabilitation of collaborating artists of the Third Reich – often referred to as “whitewashing.” This discussion will lead us to the post-Cold War era, (2) to trace how the Kosovo conflict (1998/99) was experienced and interpreted in Germany through the lens of German media actors. Other papers (3 and/or 4) will also focus on German media history, ideally situated between those two given timelines. Except being focused on the post-1945 period, there are limitations on the theme of the proposed paper.
Overview of the planned panel
We would like to encourage you to join our panel in one of the following roles:
- panelist to present your own research paper related to the panel topic
- panel moderator
- panel commentator
For information about the roles, please visit the following link: https://www.thegsa.org/conference/current-conference#modscomms
If you're interested in being a panelist, please send an abstract of 350–500 words and a short CV to Céline Fiszbin (celineenthese@gmail.com) and Alexander Leyde (alexander.leyde@gmail.com) by March 7, 2025. If you're interested in moderating the panel or in commenting, a short CV will be enough.
Please note that all participants must be members of the GSA at the time of panel submission (i. e., by March 19, 2025).
https://www.thegsa.org/conference/current-conference
Céline Fiszbin and Alexander Leyde
