"Even though the Iron Curtain fell decades ago, today's historiography often still includes a Cold War inspired East-West perspective, especially when it comes to the topic of violence. Western Europe is often presented as the norm when compared with Eastern European developments that are viewed as 'different' and 'less civilized'," observes Pavel Kolář, professor of Eastern European history at the University of Konstanz. In his new strategic concept "Violence in East and West – Towards an Integrated History of the 20th Century Europe", Pavel Kolář, aims to overcome this approach while bringing together research, teaching and international collaboration. In the context of the Momentum Initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation is funding the project with almost 800,000 euros for an initial period of four years.
With this funding, Kolář aims to correct various tendencies in the European historiography of violence. "Until now, the prevailing interpretation has been that violence in Europe has been gradually disappearing since World War II. However, I propose that violence has not continually decreased, but that its forms of manifestation have changed and become less visible. State violence has been systematically obscured or hidden and increasingly directed against marginalized social groups," Kolář explains. He sees many examples of this in Western Europe, too, including police violence, violence at countries' borders, or violence in care institutions – against children or disabled people. For a long time, these forms of violence were not publicly criticized, which helped them remain concealed. "In order to establish and maintain stability, all political systems in the last century used force in various ways – dictatorships and democracies alike," says the historian.
Pavel Kolář's work not only focuses on politically motivated large-scale violence, but also on everyday phenomena in society. He will engage in intensive exchange with other researchers studying violence in different regions of Europe in order to develop a truly comprehensive perspective on European violence. A planned fellowship programme at the University of Konstanz is one of several measures intended to facilitate this goal.
About the Momentum Initiative
The Volkswagen Foundation's Momentum Initiative supports recently tenured professors with strategically developing their position and pursuing new ideas. After successful evaluation of the initial funding phase, projects can receive funding for a further two years. More information is available on the Momentum website: www.volkswagenstiftung.de/momentum
Key facts:
- In the context of the Momentum Initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation provides funding for the strategic endeavour "Violence in East and West – Towards an Integrated History of the 20th Century Europe" led by Pavel Kolář, Professor of Eastern European history at the University of Konstanz.
- The aim is to write and teach a comprehensive European history of violence in the 20th century that critically examines both Eastern and Western Europe equally.
- Funding amount: up to 794,300 euros
- Funding period: four years (option of a two-year extension)
- This round, a total of 13 applications were selected for funding.