Wow! eBook
Redefining Reparations (Mass Violence in Modern History)
Author(s): Lorena De Vita (Editor), Constantin Goschler (Editor)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: March 19, 2025
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 298 pages
- ISBN-10: 1032454636
- ISBN-13: 9781032454634
Book Description
This edited volume offers a new interpretation of the historically momentous 1952 Wassenaar negotiations between representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, and the Jewish Claims Conference to negotiate reparations, compensation, and restitution in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Wassenaar 1952 marked the first time that reparations were the subject of negotiations between representatives of victims and perpetrators following mass human rights violations and genocide. The reparations program that Germany established after the Holocaust eventually became a point of reference for many calling for reparations to deal with the aftermath of other atrocities – from colonialism to slavery – in contexts as diverse as Namibia, the United States, and beyond. Combining perspectives from history, anthropology, international relations, and transitional justice, this volume reassesses the course and global legacy of these negotiations.
The book’s holistic and nuanced intervention in the study of the politics of repair makes it essential reading for students of history, law, transitional justice, and political science interested in the complex topic of reparations.
The Introduction of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"What was Wassenaar? This collection of papers by a diverse array of scholars shows that the gathering of representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, and the Jewish Claims Conference gave new meaning to the idea of 'reparations.' Varied views are brought to bear on the innovation that took place during the negotiations in the Dutch town that led to an unprecedented agreement compensating for the wrongs done to Jews by the Third Reich. This volume is indispensable for anyone who wants to experience being 'present at the creation' of post-Holocaust reparations politics."
John Torpey, Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA
About the Author
Lorena De Vita is Associate Professor of International Relations in Historical Perspective at Utrecht University, where she leads the Wording Repair research project, funded by the Dutch National Research Council (NWO) and the Alfred Landecker Foundation Lecturer Programme. De Vita is the author of Israelpolitik: German-Israeli Relations 1949–69 (2020).
Constantin Goschler is Professor of Modern History at the Ruhr University Bochum. His publications include Schuld und Schulden: Die Politik der Wiedergutmachung für NS-Verfolgte seit 1945 (2008) and Compensation in Practice: The Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" and the Legacy of Forced Labour during the Third Reich (ed.) (2017).
