Introduction: Between Entitlement and Reconciliation: Germany and Poland’s Postmemory after 1989

Abstract

In the summer of 2009, visitors strolling down Berlin’s Unter den Linden literally found themselves in the middle of a historiographical battle. Positioned on opposite sides of the iconic boulevard, two museums competed for visitors to their respective exhibits: on one side of the street, bright, cheerful posters in hues of orange, yellow, and lime green welcomed visitors to the Crown Prince Palace’s exhibit, “Called: German Life in Central and Eastern Europe,” championing the long history of German settlement and cultivation in the East; ¹ o n the other side of the boulevard, somber black banners with stark red and white lettering announced the German Historical Museum’s exhibit, “Germans and Poles—1.9.39—Despair and Hope,” which focused on Nazi atrocities perpetrated in Poland and the history of both countries’ postwar relations.