Books by Alexander Karn
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During the 1990s and early 2000s in Europe, more than fifty historical commis... more Publisher info:
During the 1990s and early 2000s in Europe, more than fifty historical commissions were created to confront, discuss, and document the genocide of the Holocaust and to address some of its unresolved injustices. Amending the Past offers the first in-depth account of these commissions, examining the complexities of reckoning with past atrocities and large-scale human rights violations.
Alexander Karn analyzes more than a dozen Holocaust commissions—in Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and elsewhere—in a comparative framework, situating each in the context of past and present politics, to evaluate their potential for promoting justice and their capacity for bringing the perspectives of rival groups more closely together. Karn also evaluates the media coverage these commissions received and probes their public reception from multiple angles.
Arguing that historical commissions have been underused as a tool for conflict management, Karn develops a program for historical mediation and moral reparation that can deepen democratic commitment and strengthen human rights in both transitional regimes and existing liberal states.
Since the end of the Cold War, and particularly during the last fifteen years, the human need to ... more Since the end of the Cold War, and particularly during the last fifteen years, the human need to amend immoral wrongs has been expressed in political discourse as a propensity to apologize for acts of past injustice. Can apology, by bringing closure to conflicts and by opening new possibilities for communication and mutual understanding, cultivate reconciliation and ameliorate the present? Taking Wrongs Seriously examines the increasingly potent role of apology as a social force. Contributors explore in a comparative and interdisciplinary framework the role and function—as well as the limitations—that apology has in promoting dialogue, tolerance, and cooperation between groups confronting one another over past injustices. Fourteen essays draw on a variety of disciplines—including history, international relations, transition studies, sociology, legal studies, psychology, and religion—to explore the real and symbolic transactions that lie at the core of apology. There is no similar introductory text on this subject that includes multiple disciplinary perspectives as well as such a wide geographical and historical spectrum of case studies.
Papers by Alexander Karn
Global Studies Quarterly, 2022
The purpose of the special forum is to analyze political apologies through a variety of critical ... more The purpose of the special forum is to analyze political apologies through a variety of critical lenses in order to evaluate their efficacy for conflict mediation and redress of historical injustice. The proliferation of group apologies in the 1990s and 2000s led some scholars to herald the arrival of an "age of apology." However, the task of assessing the impacts of these apologies and gauging their potential for fostering reconciliation has remained unfinished. The scholarship has been characterized by alternating currents of idealism and realism, but much of the work has been intuitive rather than empirical, and there is little agreement as to the evaluative criteria. With these papers, we take stock of what has been learned about political apologies, and we seek new avenues for exploration. Critics are right to question the unequal power structures that apologies sometimes reinforce, and it is important to understand how apologies leave crucial aspects of injustice untouched. At the same time, the prevalence of apologies in international affairs and the propensity of both perpetrators and victims to seek acknowledgment through the discourse of apologies suggest that continued study of apologies is warranted. Probing the performative aspects of apologies and dissecting their contradictions does not foreclose the possibility of their also having value for improving intergroup relationships, deepening historical understanding, and enacting justice, for example, by strengthening demands for reparations. Nor should we abandon efforts to understand what moral substance these apologies may convey, simply because we have seen how they can be cynically manipulated.
Chap. in Historical Dialogue and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, Eds. Elazar Barkan, Constanti... more Chap. in Historical Dialogue and the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, Eds. Elazar Barkan, Constantin Goschler, and James Waller. Routledge, 2020.
Abstract: Together with truth commissions, trials, and reparations, museums and memorials have emerged as important tools for confronting the past and “coming to terms with” traumatic histories and episodes of mass atrocity. These sites typically combine traditional museology frameworks and mission statements with activist agendas and ethical imperatives (e.g., Never again!), yet relatively little is known about their efficacy, and the discursive underpinnings of their presentations are, for the most part, under-theorized. This essay takes up four museums/memorials in order to assess their potential as sites for historical dialogue and atrocity prevention: the 9/11 Memorial and Museum (USA), the District Six Museum (South Africa), the Liberation War Museum (Bangladesh); and the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice (USA). Although there are important differences to consider within this small sampling, each case is framed here by the same overarching questions: How do representations of large-scale violence at these sites help or hinder historical dialogue and the promotion of democracy and human rights? And also, which kinds of representations and narratives are most likely to contribute positively to the atrocity prevention program, which is the focus of this volume? This essay argues that museums and memorials, despite certain limitations, can play a helpful role in shaping how rival groups view one another and how responsibility for past violence is apportioned, thereby facilitating the processes of reconciliation that can ameliorate conflict and stem violence.
Yod: Revue des études hébraïques et juives, 2018
Abstract: Historical commissions have played an important role in the most recent efforts to garn... more Abstract: Historical commissions have played an important role in the most recent efforts to garner restitution and reparations for Holocaust victims and their families. Several dozen Holocaust commissions were convened in the late‑1990s and early‑2000s in European countries where histories of collaboration and complicity with the Nazi regime were either under‑documented or suppressed in the official discourse. This essay examines the Holocaust commissions from a historiographical perspective with special attention given to the methodological and rhetorical strategies they employed when confronted by the traumatic experiences and memories of victims and survivors. While the work of these commissions was shaped and influenced, to varying degrees, by external political forces and interest groups, this essay explores the ways in which “the politics of history” entered into their written reports and, consequently, obscured and silenced fundamental aspects of Holocaust history. Three commissions, in particular, are held up for scrutiny (i.e., Austria’s Jabloner Commission, the International Commission for Holocaust‑Era Insurance Claims, and France’s Mattéoli Commission), and an assessment of their work is given against the backdrop of ongoing debates within the field of trauma studies and in
response to questions concerning the Holocaust and the “limits of representation.”
Chap. in Transitional Justice and Education: Learning Peace. Clara Ramirez-Barat and Roger Duthie... more Chap. in Transitional Justice and Education: Learning Peace. Clara Ramirez-Barat and Roger Duthie, eds. New York: SSRC, 2017.
Building peace in the wake of large-scale historical injustices is difficult and sometimes dispir... more Building peace in the wake of large-scale historical injustices is difficult and sometimes dispiriting work. Rival groups often conjure vastly different memories of the same events, and these divergences reinforce cycles of violence and deepen feelings of resentment. Whether we look at the conflict in Israel-Palestine, the longstanding feud between China and Japan, or the civil wars and genocides which continue to plague sub-Saharan Africa, it is clear that partisans in these contests seek to ‘weaponize’ the past in order to legitimate their campaigns and support their claims to moral superiority. We know that history pervades and animates many of the seemingly intractable conflicts unfolding in the world today, but can the recounting of past events also work to smooth relations between rival groups who find themselves entangled in each other’s memories and identities?
This article is a meditation on the challenges of teaching Holocaust history. It begins from the ... more This article is a meditation on the challenges of teaching Holocaust history. It begins from the premise that the Holocaust, because of the extreme violence it entailed and the atmosphere of moral uncertainty in which much of this violence unfolded, is a special subject of historical inquiry. The article asks whether Holocaust history can be compared to contemporary instances of mass violence without distorting its essential features. The author contends that Holocaust education in America is generally characterized by conflicting approaches, unclear objectives, and poorly conceived assessments of student learning. The author goes on to suggest how close and critical readings of Holocaust-era memoirs can support the model of transformative learning to which many Holocaust educators and history teachers aspire.
Book Reviews by Alexander Karn
International Network for Theory of History, 2020
Historical Dialogues, 2016
Historical Dialogues, Jun 2015
Law and History Review, 2010
Austrian History Yearbook, 2011
Law and History Review, 2007
Op-Ed and Public Scholarship by Alexander Karn
Huffington Post, 2017
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5991d126e4b0ed1f464c0cca
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Books by Alexander Karn
During the 1990s and early 2000s in Europe, more than fifty historical commissions were created to confront, discuss, and document the genocide of the Holocaust and to address some of its unresolved injustices. Amending the Past offers the first in-depth account of these commissions, examining the complexities of reckoning with past atrocities and large-scale human rights violations.
Alexander Karn analyzes more than a dozen Holocaust commissions—in Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and elsewhere—in a comparative framework, situating each in the context of past and present politics, to evaluate their potential for promoting justice and their capacity for bringing the perspectives of rival groups more closely together. Karn also evaluates the media coverage these commissions received and probes their public reception from multiple angles.
Arguing that historical commissions have been underused as a tool for conflict management, Karn develops a program for historical mediation and moral reparation that can deepen democratic commitment and strengthen human rights in both transitional regimes and existing liberal states.
Papers by Alexander Karn
Abstract: Together with truth commissions, trials, and reparations, museums and memorials have emerged as important tools for confronting the past and “coming to terms with” traumatic histories and episodes of mass atrocity. These sites typically combine traditional museology frameworks and mission statements with activist agendas and ethical imperatives (e.g., Never again!), yet relatively little is known about their efficacy, and the discursive underpinnings of their presentations are, for the most part, under-theorized. This essay takes up four museums/memorials in order to assess their potential as sites for historical dialogue and atrocity prevention: the 9/11 Memorial and Museum (USA), the District Six Museum (South Africa), the Liberation War Museum (Bangladesh); and the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice (USA). Although there are important differences to consider within this small sampling, each case is framed here by the same overarching questions: How do representations of large-scale violence at these sites help or hinder historical dialogue and the promotion of democracy and human rights? And also, which kinds of representations and narratives are most likely to contribute positively to the atrocity prevention program, which is the focus of this volume? This essay argues that museums and memorials, despite certain limitations, can play a helpful role in shaping how rival groups view one another and how responsibility for past violence is apportioned, thereby facilitating the processes of reconciliation that can ameliorate conflict and stem violence.
response to questions concerning the Holocaust and the “limits of representation.”
Book Reviews by Alexander Karn
Op-Ed and Public Scholarship by Alexander Karn
What our leaders say—and whether or not they are truthful—matters. Donald Trump's vile word games are not compatible with democracy.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-holocaust-remembrance-and-alternative-facts_b_5890c39fe4b02c397c178cc2
During the 1990s and early 2000s in Europe, more than fifty historical commissions were created to confront, discuss, and document the genocide of the Holocaust and to address some of its unresolved injustices. Amending the Past offers the first in-depth account of these commissions, examining the complexities of reckoning with past atrocities and large-scale human rights violations.
Alexander Karn analyzes more than a dozen Holocaust commissions—in Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and elsewhere—in a comparative framework, situating each in the context of past and present politics, to evaluate their potential for promoting justice and their capacity for bringing the perspectives of rival groups more closely together. Karn also evaluates the media coverage these commissions received and probes their public reception from multiple angles.
Arguing that historical commissions have been underused as a tool for conflict management, Karn develops a program for historical mediation and moral reparation that can deepen democratic commitment and strengthen human rights in both transitional regimes and existing liberal states.
Abstract: Together with truth commissions, trials, and reparations, museums and memorials have emerged as important tools for confronting the past and “coming to terms with” traumatic histories and episodes of mass atrocity. These sites typically combine traditional museology frameworks and mission statements with activist agendas and ethical imperatives (e.g., Never again!), yet relatively little is known about their efficacy, and the discursive underpinnings of their presentations are, for the most part, under-theorized. This essay takes up four museums/memorials in order to assess their potential as sites for historical dialogue and atrocity prevention: the 9/11 Memorial and Museum (USA), the District Six Museum (South Africa), the Liberation War Museum (Bangladesh); and the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice (USA). Although there are important differences to consider within this small sampling, each case is framed here by the same overarching questions: How do representations of large-scale violence at these sites help or hinder historical dialogue and the promotion of democracy and human rights? And also, which kinds of representations and narratives are most likely to contribute positively to the atrocity prevention program, which is the focus of this volume? This essay argues that museums and memorials, despite certain limitations, can play a helpful role in shaping how rival groups view one another and how responsibility for past violence is apportioned, thereby facilitating the processes of reconciliation that can ameliorate conflict and stem violence.
response to questions concerning the Holocaust and the “limits of representation.”
What our leaders say—and whether or not they are truthful—matters. Donald Trump's vile word games are not compatible with democracy.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-holocaust-remembrance-and-alternative-facts_b_5890c39fe4b02c397c178cc2