EXHIBITION The Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, Deutschlandradio Kultur and the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship are jointly sponsoring an exhibition in 2014 about the history of democracy and dictatorship in 20th century Europe. The occasion for this is the upcoming series of major anniversaries that illustrate the linkages among national histories during the “Century of Extremes“: the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I takes place in 2014. Seventy-five years will have passed as well since the beginning of World War II, twenty-five years since the peaceful revolution of 1989, and ten years since the eastward enlargement of the European Union. The show “Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century” portrays Europe’s twentieth century as a dramatic history of the struggle between freedom and tyranny, democracy and dictatorship. Inspired by the year 2014, it invites viewers to take a historical pulse of the past century. The exhibition presents almost 190 photographs and images from numerous European archives. The authors of the show are Prof. Dr. Andreas Wirsching, the director of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, and his colleague Dr. Petra Weber. The exhibition is an ideal medium for sparking discussion in public places – such as city hall reception areas, adult education centers, local libraries, schools, or religious meeting places – about the history of dictatorship and democracy in twentieth-century Europe. At the same time the exhibition provides an appropriate setting for film showings, discussions with con- temporary witnesses, book launches, as well as other events related to this theme. Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century An exhibition by the Institute for Contemporary History, Deutschlandradio Kultur, and the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship Raymond Depardon / Magnum Photos / Agentur focus
Transcript
EXHIBITION
The Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, Deutschlandradio Kultur and the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship are jointly sponsoring an exhibition in 2014 about the history of democracy and dictatorship in 20th century Europe. The occasion for this is the upcoming series of major anniversaries that illustrate the linkages among national histories during the “Century of Extremes“: the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I takes place in 2014. Seventy-five years will have passed as well since the beginning of World War II, twenty-five years since the peaceful revolution of 1989, and ten years since the eastward enlargement of the European Union.
The show “Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century” portrays Europe’s twentieth
century as a dramatic history of the struggle between freedom and tyranny, democracy and dictatorship. Inspired by the year 2014, it invites viewers to take a historical pulse of the past century. The exhibition presents almost 190 photographs and images from numerous European archives. The authors of the show are Prof. Dr. Andreas Wirsching, the director of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, and his colleague Dr. Petra Weber.
The exhibition is an ideal medium for sparking discussion in public places – such as city hall reception areas, adult education centers, local libraries, schools, or religious meeting places – about the history of dictatorship and democracy in twentieth-century Europe. At the same time the exhibition provides an appropriate setting for film showings, discussions with con-temporary witnesses, book launches, as well as other events related to this theme.
Dictatorship and Democracy in
the Age of Extremes:
Spotlights on the History of
Europe in the Twentieth Century
Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century
An exhibition
by the Institute for
Contemporary History,
Deutschland radio Kultur,
and the Federal
Foundation for the
Reappraisal of the SED
Dictatorship
Raymond Depardon / Magnum Photos / Agentur focus
THE CONTENT OF THE EXHIBITIONTwenty-six large-size posters show how the “seminal catastrophe” of World War I and its orgy of violence abet the rise of tota-litarian movements in the twentieth century – and how the new democracies struggling for stability after the war quickly go on the defensive. The communists come to power in Russia, the fascists in Italy. Authoritarian regimes establish themselves in much of East Central Europe. Nationalism, leftwing radicalism, antisemitism, rassism, and conspiracy theories are not just widespread in Germany. But it is here that the National Socialists assume power in 1933. They singlemindedly prepare for a new war. At the same time mass terror rages in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Twenty-five years after the outbreak of World War I, Germany invades Poland, thus unleashing World War II, which is conducted as a war of extermination in the East. The racial antisemitism of the Nazi regime escalates at the same time into a systematic murder of the European Jews.
The dictatorships of interwar Europe and World War II cannot be explained without reference to World War I. The erection of new communist dictatorships in eastern central Europe after 1945, as well as the subsequent division of Germany, Europe, and the world, are in turn the results of World War II. Democracy, freedom, and international understanding, which gradually become commonplace across Western Europe after 1945, do not obtain in eastern central Europe for another four decades. It is first with the upheavals and revolutions that take place there in 1989 that the people win their freedom and independence. The revolutions are not just the precondition for overcoming European and German division, but also for achieving European integration. Following the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, the latter reaches a high point in 2004 with the first eastern enlargment of the EU. The peoples and states belonging to the European Union have learned their lesson from history. They have pledged to solve conflicts by seeking consensus and working together for the good of the international community.
The exhibition “Dictatorship and Democracy in the Age of Extremes” portrays Europe’s twentieth century as a dramatic history of the struggle between freedom and tyranny, democracy and dictatorship. In so doing, and inspired by the year 2014, it invites viewers to take a historical pulse of the preceding century.
HOW TO ORDERGerman-language version: The exhibition consists of twenty-six DIN A-1 posters. A printed German-language version can be ordered for a nominal charge of 50 € (VAT included); additional charges for shipping are 4.30 € within Germany, 14.30 € for other countries in the EU, and 37 € for addresses outside the EU. The posters will be delivered carefully rolled- up and must then be framed or mounted on exhibition boards. Mailings will begin in late January 2014. Orders for the German-language version can only be placed via the following website: http://bestellung.bundesstiftung.voegel.com
English-language version: There is no cost to download the twenty-six posters that make up the exhibition, which is intended for use at schools and universities, as well as for public education purposes. Universities and all other types of educational institutions wishing to show the exhibition may download the posters for free and then have them digitally printed at their own cost.
The posters are designed in such a way that they can be printed without any problem at most copy shops or printing presses. They are in DIN A1 (594 mm × 841 mm) format with a border of 5 mm, and have all printing information (cutting instructions, cutting marks, color control strips, etc.).
Please note: all of the images and texts in the exhibition are protected by copyright. It is expressly forbidden to make the pdf files of the exhibition available, in whole or in part, on the internet or to distribute them in any other way. Please request the printing data by sending a fax to +49 (0)30 / 31 98 95-210, or via email to ausstellung2014@bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Dr. Ulrich Maehlert is your main contact person.
Additional information about the exhibit may be found in German on the following website: www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/ausstellung2014
THE ORGANIZERS The Institute for Contemporary History, founded in 1949 and now with offices in Munich and Berlin, is the only historical in-stitution in the Federal Republic that researches all of contemporary German history since World War I, with special attention given to international developments: www.ifz-muenchen.de | The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship promotes extensive engagement with the causes, history, and consequences of communist dictatorship in Ger-many and Europe by supporting various projects as well as through its own offerings: www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de | Deutschlandradio Kultur is a multifaceted and thematically rich radio station that emphasizes cultural topics and music, including numerous in-house artistic productions. Its line-up includes radio dramas, features, live concerts, children s pro-gramming, reporting from the current cultural scene as well as current events. www.dradio.de
THE AUTHORSProf. Dr. Andreas Wirsching is the director of the Institute for Contemporary History Munich-Berlin. His book Der Preis der Freiheit. Geschichte Europas in unserer Zeit (The Price of Freedom: European History in Our Time) appeared in 2012. | Dr. P etra Weber is a research assistant at the Institute for Contemporary History. Her research foci are the history of socialism, the Wei-mar Republic, and the two postwar German states.
TRANSLATION AND DESIGN Prof. Andrew I. Port, Ph.D., who teaches modern German history at Wayne State University in Detroit (USA), translated the exhibition from German into English. http://clasweb.clas.wayne.edu/aiport | Dr. Thomas Klemm, a historian and graphic designer from Leipzig who has already designed many contemporary exhibits for the Federal Foundation, was responsible for the design of the exhibit: www.thomasklemm.com
1 First poster (no text)2 The “Seminal Catastrophe” of the
Twentieth Century3 The Beginning of a New Epoch4 Revolutionary Upheaval in Germany5 The Fragile Peace Settlement6 Democracy in Retreat7 The Stalinist Soviet Union8 Fascism in Italy9 The Challenge of the World Economic
Crisis
10 The Failure of Democracy in Germany11 The National Socialists in Power12 On the Road to a New War13 World War II14 War of Extermination in the East15 The Persecution and Murder of the
European Jews16 Resistance to National Socialism17 The End of the War and a New Order18 Democracy in the West, Dictatorship
in the East
19 Cold War in a Divided World20 Uprisings in the Eastern Bloc21 Economic Rivalry between East
and West22 Liberalization in West Europe23 The Policy of Détente24 Peaceful Revolutions25 Upheaval, Awakening, and
a New Beginning26 Europe as Challenge
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Dictatorship and Democracy in
the Age of Extremes:
Spotlights on the History of
Europe in the Twentieth Century An exhibition
by the Institute for
Contemporary History,
Deutschland radio Kultur,
and the Federal
Foundation for the
Reappraisal of the SED
Dictatorship
Foto: Raymond Depardon/Magnum Photos/Agentur focus
4Hearing history
Germany’s defeat was inevitable in the summer of 1918, and the peace treaty signed with Russia in March could not change that. In an attempt to improve the terms of the peace, the German military leadership introduced a transition to parlia-mentary monarchy. Sailors nevertheless mutinied in October when the German navy was to set sail one last time. That was the signal for revolution, which reached the capital Berlin on November 9. A republic was proclaimed that same day, and Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate. Friederich Ebert, the head of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), became chan-cellor. As a result, it was democrats – and not those who had been responsible for and conducted the war – who signed the armistice on November 11. The Social Democrats had previ-ously split in two because of a quarrel about the war. The SPD championed parliamentary democracy in 1918 and thus
rejected the “dictatorship of soldiers and workers’ councils“ de-manded by the German Communist Party (KPD), which was established on January 1, 1919. A National Assembly charged with drafting a constitution met in February in the town of Weimar, the venue that gave the first German democracy its name. The republic was attacked from the very beginning, and the government, led by Social Democrats, deployed the military against large-scale strikes and attempted coups or-ganized by the extreme Left. In the wake of all this, radical right-wing fighting units tried to launch a counterrevolution.They enjoyed the blatant support of nationalists and conserv-atives, who had voted against the new constitution. When a reactionary putsch attempt led by Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz took place in March 1920, the demo crats could just barely hold on to power.
Part of the German Left rejected parliamentary democracy. The Spartacus uprising of January 1919 was one of many putsch attempts that aimed to introduce a governing system of councils.
Photo: picture-alliance / akg-images
The revolution reaches Berlin. On November 9, 1918, sailors and civilians protest on Paris Square in front of the Brandeburg Gate.
Photo: picture-alliance / ZB
Following the revolution, the Council of the People’s Deputies assumed the reigns of power until the first free general elections were held in Germany in January 1919. Fom left to right in the photograph: Emil Barth, Otto Landsberg, Friedrich Ebert, Hugo Haase, Wilhelm Dittmann, and Philipp Scheidemann.
Photo: picture-alliance / akg-images
A view of the deputies at the National Assemb ly in Weimar in 1919. Its president, Eduard David, announces the election of Social Demo crat Friedrich Ebert as president on February 11, 1919. Ebert is sitting on the front bench all the way to the right; next to him is Gustav Noske, who would serve as Minister of Defense.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa
The Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the creation of a republic at 2 p.m. on November 9, 1918 from the balcony of the Reichstag.
Photo: bpk 30.002.959
After the extreme right Kapp-Lüttwitz putsch failed because of a general strike, the president and government tried to restore or-der, but could not prevent the outbreak of a workers’ revolt in the Ruhr industrial region and a further intensification of political tensions.
Facsimile: picture-alliance / akg-images
The High Command of the German army: General von Hindenburg, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and General Ludendorff in January 1917 at the main headquarters in Pleß in Upper Silesia.
Photo: picture-alliance / landov
The shooting of court-martialed revolutionary sailors during fighting in Berlin in March 1919. To prevent the formation of local council republics and mass strikes by the Left, the Social Democratic government dispatched troops whose officers and members regarded democracy, for the most part, with open contempt. The brutality of the regular troops as well as of the right-wing Free Corps deepened the chasm within the German working-class movement.
Photo: picture-alliance / ZB
Revolutionary Upheaval in Germany
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12Hearing history
A German military parade on Wenzel’s Square in Prague on April 5, 1939. The Wehrmacht had marched into the Czech lands three weeks earlier, right after a German vassal state had, under pressure from Hitler, been proclaimed in Slovakia.
“And Hitler’s peace doves come directly after his peace overtures.“ Photo montage by John Heartfield on the cover page of the Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung (Workers’ Illustrated Newspaper, # 15, April 5, 1936), published in exile in Prague but founded in 1921 in Berlin by communist publisher Willi Münzenberg.
Image: The Heartfield Community of Heirs / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2013 / Photo: bpk
Adolf Hitler (in the middle) met in Munich on September 29, 1938 with (from left to right) the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and his Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano. The heads of government signed an agreement about the cession of the Sudeten-German territory to the German empire. Czechoslovakia, which was directly affected by the agreement, was not present at the meeting.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa
The ruins of the Basque city Guernica y Luno, which was levelled to the ground by the German Condor Legion on April 26, 1937.
Photo: bpk 30.018.101
Hitler’s court photographer Heinrich Hoffman captures the friendly handshake between Stalin and the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop after the two dictatorships had agreed on August 23-24, 1939 to divide Poland and the Baltic states between themselves.
Photo: BArch, Bild 183-H27337, no provenance
German troops enter Mainz via the Rhine Bridge on March 7, 1936, thereby breaching the Treaties of Versailles and Locarno. Civilians welcome them with the Hitler salute.
Photo: picture-alliance / akg-images
Residents of Vienna stand in front of a portrait of Hitler, their hands raised in the “German salute“ as the “Führer’s“ proclamation about the entry of German troops into Austria is read aloud on all radio stations on March 12, 1938.
Photo: picture-alliance / akg-images
From the very beginning Hitler wanted to undermine the Versailles Treaty and carry out a war of conquest in the East to gain “living space.“ Germany left the League of Nations in 1934 and – in contravention of the Versailles Treaty – introduced universal conscription in 1935. A year later the German army advanced into the demilitarized Rhineland – once again in contravention of international treaties. Paris and London responded to the developments with a weak protest – which only encouraged Hitler. When General Franco staged a putsch against the democratically-elected government in Spain, only the democratic states abided by the agreed upon policy of nonintervention. Hitler and Mussolini openly fought on the side of the fascists during the Spanish Civil War and, at the
same time, established the “Berlin-Rome Axis.“ The Western states only reacted with restraint to the Austrian “Anschluss“ of March 1938, for the guiding principle at the time was “appeasement.“ The French and British governments believed that they had safeguarded peace in Europe by signing the Munich Agreement of September 1938 and by accepting the incorporation of the Sudetenland into the German empire – thus abandoning Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union found itself isolated and sought an alliance with its ideological arch enemy. With the Hitler- Stalin Pact of August 23, 1939, Berlin and Moscow agreed on the joint dissolution of Poland and the Baltic states. The rapprochement between the two dictators paved the path to war.
On the Road to a New War
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24Hearing history
The Russian President Boris Yeltsin (on the left) confronts Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at an emergency session of the Russian parliament held on August 23, 1991, two days after the failure of a putsch attempt by communist conspirators.
Photo: BStA, Harald Schmitt, Nr. 91 0822 001
A historic moment: the Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock (on the left) and his Hungarian counterpart Gyula Horn symbolically cut through the Iron Curtain on June 27, 1989.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa
The 1970s and 1980s were marked by a democratic trend that first affected authoritarian regimes in Portugal, Spain, and Greece – but that then appeared to come to a stop at the Iron Curtain. In the early 1980s, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and a new arms race led to a hardening of relations between the two blocs, as well as within the communist sphere of influence itself. Beginning in 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, tried to prevent systemic collapse by introducing two major reforms: Glasnost and Perestroika, which were rejected by the East German and Czechoslovakian leadership. They led to the reapproval of Solidarity in Poland, however – and then to the victory of the opposition in the first halfway free elections, which were held in August 1989. Impelled by the opposition,
communist reformers also prepared the path to democracy in Hungary. The opening of the Hungarian-Austrian border in September signalled the fall of the Iron Curtain and exacerbated the final crisis gripping the GDR, where mass flight and increasingly powerful demonstrations would bring the SED leadership to its knees that autumn. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 became the symbol of the peaceful revolutions that took place against the communist dictatorships of eastern Europe – despite being overshadowed by violence in Romania and the Baltic states. The dissolution of Yugoslavia took a tragic turn, leading to a bloody civil war. Communist putschists tried to turn back the clock in Moscow in August 1991. They failed because of resistance by the masses, who then celebrated the demise of the USSR in December.
Peaceful Revolutions
The Palace of Culture in Warsaw, the architectonic representation of Stalinism in Poland, served in July 1987 as the backdrop for a religious mass dur-ing Pope John Paul II’s third trip to Poland. The photograph symbolizes the influence of the Catholic Church in Poland in the 1970s and 1980s.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa / Polska Agencja Interpress
On August 23, 1989, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania demanded independence with a 600-kilometer-long human chain.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa
Civil war-like conditions prevailed in Romania following the toppling of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu on December 22, 1989. This photograph from December 24 shows fighting against snipers deployed by the Securitate, the communist secret service.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa
The Soviet head of state and party chief Mikhail Gorbachev (on the right) and U. S. President Ronald Reagan at their first summit on November 21, 1985 in Geneva. In the second half of the 1980s, disarmament negotiations led to growing trust between the two blocs.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpa
A crowd of people on November 10, 1989 in front of and on the Berlin Wall. The Brandenburg Gate can be seen in the background.
Photo: Bundesregierung / Lehnartz
At the Round Table in Warsaw (taken on April 5, 1989). Between February 6 and April 5, the opposition and government negotiated Poland’s peaceful transition from communist dictatorship to democracy.
Photo: picture-alliance / dpaThe Velvet Revolution. A large-scale demonstration on Wenzel’s Square in Prague in late November 1989.
