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Episode 8 - Dirk Rupnow

 

 

In the eighth episode of “History Exchange” Professor Dirk Rupnow from the University of Innsbruck speaks about the change in the Culture of Remembrance, the history of labor migration, institutional education and his relations with Günter Bischof and the United Staats.

Professor Rupnow born on September 30, 1972 in Berlin (Germany) is a historian and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and History at the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck. He completed his studies in history, German studies, philosophy and art history at the FU Berlin, the University of Vienna and the University of Klagenfurt in 1999 with a Diploma in Vienna. After completing his doctorate in 2002 in Klagenfurt and his habilitation in Vienna in 2009. He undertook various research stays at leading institutions such as the International Research Center for Cultural Studies in Vienna and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC.
Prof. Rupnow has worked at the University of Vienna from 2007 and has held the Chair of Contemporary History at the University of Innsbruck 2015. From 2010 to 2018, he headed the Institute of Contemporary History in Innsbruck and has been Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and History since 2018. His work spans various fields of research, including Austrian, German as well as European contemporary history, the Nazi era and the Holocaust, Jewish history, the history of science, cultural studies, transnational history and migration history.
Professor Rupnow is not only involved in teaching and research, but also takes on important functions, such as membership of the Senate of the University of Innsbruck and the founding of the doctoral college "Dynamics of Inequality and Difference in the Age of Globalization". His contribution also extends to international committees, such as the Board of Trustees of the European Forum Alpbach.
He has received several awards for his achievements, including the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History in 2009 and the Tyrol Prize for Science in 2010. His publications, such as "Judenforschung im Dritten Reich" and "Vernichten und Erinnern. Spuren nationalsozialistischer Gedächtnispolitik", underline his commitment to high-quality research and knowledge transfer. Overall, Professor Dirk Rupnow is a key figure in historical research, whose work provides significant insights into various aspects of history.
In this podcast episode, Rupnow discusses the changes in the culture of remembrance of National socialism and addresses the growing interest in historical politics and the culture of remembrance among the general public. As examples, the historian mentions the debate surrounding Hitler's birthplace in Braunau and the historical reappraisal of the Tyrolean Landhaus in Innsbruck through a permanent exhibition.
In recent years, Dirk Rupnow has led a research project on denominational children's homes in Tyrol after the Second World War. This research project has dealt intensively with cases of abuse in denominational homes in Tyrol since 1945. It was prompted by the abuses that became known at the Martinsbühel girls' home in Zirl (Tyrol). The 400-page report describes humiliation, sexualized violence and abuse. In the course of this research, the scientists took a close look at seven homes and conducted 75 interviews with contemporary witnesses. In the podcast interview, the Innsbruck historian talks about this joint project with Ina Friedmann and Friedrich Stepanek and the examination of the events in the homes from different perspectives. Topics such as care, authorities, staff structures, everyday life in the homes and the financial situation are examined, as well as the further course of life and how those affected dealt with their time in the homes.
He also talks about his collaboration with Günter Bischof on the joint book project "Migration in Austria", which was published in the Contemporary Austrian Studies series in 2017. This interdisciplinary volume offers methodologically innovative approaches to Austria's handling of migration issues in the past and present. The essays show Austria's long history as a country of migration.

Interviewer:
Vanessa Schnetzer is a Master's student at the University of Innsbruck.
Fabian Woloschyn is a Master's student at the University of Innsbruck.