Nature and German History

The sixth symposium in the Historical Judgement series explores the concept and meaning of nature in German history at the intersection of faith, biology, and power. The symposium spans nine centuries. In three keynote addresses, Annette Kehnel, Jutta Nowosadtko, and Frank Uekötter will provide an overview of humanity’s changing relations with nature in the Middle Ages, the modern period, and the 19th and 20th centuries. Margot Fassler will discuss Hildegard of Bingen’s concept of viriditas (the greening power of creation) in the 12th century, Hiram Kümper will describe how nature served as a resource for the Hanseatic League, and Viktoria Urmersbach will examine 18th-century perceptions of the forest. Nils Franke will look at nature and ideology under National Socialism, Tilo Wesche will analyse the dialectic of human relations with nature in the work of Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno, and Stephen Milder will shed light on the beginnings of the anti-nuclear movement in Germany. Finally, Astrid M. Eckert will compare environmental protection in East and West Germany.  

Further information