Application Deadline:
1st of September 2014.
Call for Application
Memory in the Digital Age. Bergen-Belsen International Summer School 2014
Today, visual and digital media and technologies have gained in importance to such an extent
that curators and educational staff at historical museums and exhibitions on Europe’s Nazi past
can hardly develop them without interdisciplinary approaches and making use of digital
resources. This raises several questions:
How do we use visual and digital media without distracting visitors from the core information
that we want to convey?
How can these media serve the purpose of facilitating access to historical information in the
same way that pictures, exhibits, captions and panels have done over decades? And what
exactly are the additional benefits of visual and digital media?
How do we approach digital and visual media as educational resources within exhibitions?
To what extent is it necessary for historians to build interdisciplinary networks for the production
and use of such media? What other disciplines and perspectives might facilitate access to
specific historical knowledge?
In what ways can digital media help us preserve the memory of Nazi crimes?
As a starting point we will analyse the use of digital and visual media at the Bergen-Belsen
memorial. First, we will try out and discuss the recently developed iPad-based app which allows
visitors to access information on the grounds of the former camp and explore them with the
help of a 3D-model. This technological innovation will serve as the basis for broader discussions
on the topic of memory in the digital world. We will then try to develop visions of what practical
innovations for a museum of the future might be.
Over the course of the International Summer School (ISS), we will also examine technological
advances in historical research in general and take a closer look at individual tools from different
angles. Presentations and seminars by historians specializing in the educational use of digital
media in historical exhibitions will provide the necessary insights.
The BBISS is aimed at students in the humanities interested in the challenges of commemorative
culture in a global, digital and media context. The summer school offers presentations,
discussions and workshops which will be held in English. Food and board will be provided.
For the Bergen-Belsen International Summer School, taking place between the 14th and
19th/20th of September, we are looking for students in the humanities from Poland, the
Netherlands and Germany interested in the challenges of commemorative culture in a global,
digital and media context. The Bergen-Belsen International Summer School offers presentations,
discussions and workshops which will be held in English. Food and board will be provided.