Contemporary History

The Heinrich Böll Foundation engages in politically and historically educational work with the aim of understanding politics and society as historically evolved and changeable. Following the motto "no future without knowing the past," we encourage consideration of historical aspects, continuities, and ruptures in current political debates. A particular concern for us is conveying German and European democratic history.

Here you will find current articles, publications, and thematic focuses on contemporary history.

Recent Articles on Contemporary History

Illustration: Colorful elements such as a cassette labeled "90ies," a bus, a ship, a bicycle, and a hanging statue in front of a map of Europe.

ASEAN Identity, now and into the future: the interaction across borders in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is a patchwork of networks, life-worlds, trading systems and cross-cultural pathways of human interaction. These interactions have always existed in different shapes, as a look to the rural borderlands shows.

By Farish A. Noor

Gruppenfoto Workshop "Experiences in Oral History”

Experiences in Oral History: Contemporary witness interviews in archive organizations and historical research

Life stories conducted by historians and archivists are the nucleus of oral history. The workshop "Experiences in Oral History” dealt with the question, how the handling of these interviews as historical sources could be improved.

By Anastasia Surkov

All Articles on Contemporary History

Thematic Focuses on Contemporary History

All Thematic Focuses on Contemporary History

Publications on Contemporary History

German Foreign Policy and the Rwandan Genocide

E-Paper

Approximately 800,000 people were killed in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The question of the international community's responsibility is still being asked today. Many questions about German foreign policy at the time also remain unanswered.

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Illustration - Petra Kelly mit Megaphon auf grünem Hintergrund

Petra Kelly - A Graphic Novel

Graphic Novel

Petra Kelly was a co-founder of the German Green Party and known worldwide as a champion of ecology and human rights. She was tireless, fascinating and inspiring. So it's no surprise that her ideas and initiatives live on in today's politics: in the fight against climate change, for gender justice and the global validity of human rights. This year, the Heinrich Böll Foundation celebrates her 75th birthday and commemorates her violent death 30 years ago.

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Petra Kelly. A Remembrance.

With the help of many photos, some of them unpublished, the book shows the most important stages in Petra Kelly's life, makes it understandable what shaped her, and offers a look at the founding period of the Greens.

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All Publications on Contemporary History