On Thursday, 5 June 2025, the West-Eastern Encounters Foundation invited guests to a special event in an unusual setting: the lecture theatre ruins of the Charité Museum of Medical History in Berlin.
To mark the 80th anniversary of liberation from National Socialism, experts discussed historical and contemporary perspectives on war, remembrance culture and international responsibility. Prior to the event, the Foundation offered its guests guided tours of the Topography of Terror Documentation Centre and the GeDenkOrt.Charité.
Following a welcome address by Jelena Hoffmann, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Robert Crumbach (Minister of Finance and Europe of the State of Brandenburg and Deputy Prime Minister) delivered a welcome speech. Matthias Platzeck, former Minister-President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, then introduced the topic of ’80 Years of Liberation from National Socialism’ and emphasised the enduring importance of remembrance.
Two panel discussions formed the central part of the programme: In the first, historian and author Dr Gerd Koenen and Dr Tatiana Timofeeva from the European University Viadrina discussed ‘Total War and Mass Murder: The War of Extermination in the East’. The discussion was moderated by journalist Johann Michael Möller.
The second panel was dedicated to the topic of ‘Remembrance and Remembrance Culture: Change, Conflicts and Opportunities’. It was moderated by Dr Jörg Morré, Director of the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, and the speakers were Dr Kristiane Janeke (Bundeswehr Centre for Military History and Social Sciences), Dr Heike Dörrenbächer (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.) and Martin Bock (Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft).
The discussions and dialogue continued at the subsequent get-together.
We would like to thank all the speakers and moderators for their contributions to the event and for facilitating such a lively discussion.
We would like to thank the Ministry of Finance and Europe of the State of Brandenburg for its cooperation.