Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism

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Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism
Entrance area of ​​the institute building
Category: Affiliated institute
Consist: since June 17, 1993
Legal form of the carrier: Registered association
Facility location: Dresden
Type of research: Basic research
Subjects: History ,
political science
Basic funding: Free State of Saxony
Management: Thomas Lindenberger
Employee: approx. 50 (including assistants and scholarship holders)
Homepage: hait.tu-dresden.de

The Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism e. V. (HAIT) is an affiliated institute of the Technical University of Dresden , which is dedicated to the comparative analysis of dictatorships . Particular attention is paid to the structures of National Socialism and Communism as well as the requirements and consequences of both worldview dictatorships . The naming is a tribute to the German-American philosopher and political scientist Hannah Arendt , whose main work The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951, German 1955) is considered one of the most influential writings of the 20th century across all disciplines and, in particular, has had a lasting impact on the academic debate on totalitarian systems of rule Has.

history

founding

The initiative to set up the HAIT was rooted in the almost 60 years of double dictatorship experience in East Germany and the enlightenment impulse of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989/90 . Shortly after the production of German unity and the establishment of the Free State of Saxony of summed Saxon Landtag at the instigation of the leading protagonists of the civil rights movement in the former GDR on 21 November 1991 with the consent of all political groups the decision "to set up an Institute for the Study of Totalitarian structures [...] ", Which" in interdisciplinary work by historians , political scientists , sociologists , psychologists and cultural scientists investigate the political and social structures of National Socialism and the SED regime [...] that have grown over 60 years and their effects on social development in the Federal Republic of Germany [... ] should analyze ”. After a founding commission chaired by the Eastern European historian Alexander Fischer, who teaches at the University of Bonn , began its work in July 1992, the association “Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarism Research e. V. “as sponsor of the research facility of the same name. Other key figures in this constitutional process were, above all, Matthias Rößler , spokesman for science policy for the CDU parliamentary group, and Heinrich Oberreuter , founding dean of the faculty for humanities and social sciences at TU Dresden.

1993-1997

Tillich -Bau, seat of the HAIT.

After the planning was completed, the HAIT finally started its work on June 17, 1993 - the 40th anniversary of the popular uprising against the SED rule in the GDR. Alexander Fischer, who had already played a key role in setting up the institute, was appointed as the founding director. Under his leadership, the focus was initially on the infrastructural and personnel development of the HAIT. As a result of a Germany-wide invitation to tender, a total of ten posts for scientific staff could be filled with researchers from the old and new federal states by the end of 1994 . In addition, there were about as many third-party funded project positions. In addition, a special scientific library and a document archive were set up on the institute's main focuses. In the early days of the HAIT, this particularly concerned theoretical work on concepts of totalitarianism as well as empirical research on repression , opposition and resistance in both German dictatorships and on the Peaceful Revolution in Saxony, the results of which were subsequently published in the in-house publication series. After the early death of the founding director, the church historian and previous deputy director Martin Onnasch took over the interim management of the institute from the summer of 1995 and continued the path of establishing the HAIT in the pan-German scientific landscape.

1997-2003

Since February 1997, the contemporary historian Klaus-Dietmar Henke , who was appointed in a joint appointment procedure with the TU Dresden , who had previously worked as a department head at the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records , held the office of director at HAIT. In 1998 the contemporary historian Clemens Vollnhals and in 1999 the political scientist Uwe Backes came to the institute as his deputy . The further development in the following years was mainly characterized by an expansion of the research profile to include some focal points such as finance under National Socialism, everyday life in World War II, the enforcement of communist dictatorship in Saxony, or judicial policy and secret service activities in the GDR. The institute made headlines in the German press for a long time at the end of 1999, when its colleague Lothar Fritze published controversial theses about the Hitler assassin Georg Elser . As a result of the resulting conflict between the board of trustees and the director, the contract with Henke, which was limited in accordance with the statutes, was not extended. As a result, Heinrich Oberreuter, a member of the Board of Trustees at the time, was entrusted with the provisional management of the HAIT from February 2001. Regardless of the dispute, in May 2002 an evaluation commission headed by Gilbert Merlio certified that the institute had an “ overall ” positive performance record , which “earned [him] a high reputation at home and abroad”.

2003-2009

Interior of the HAIT.

The church historian Gerhard Besier , who had previously taught at the University of Heidelberg , was appointed as the new director of the HAIT - again as part of a joint procedure with the TU Dresden . During his tenure, topics from East and East Central European contemporary history were increasingly included in the institute's research program. Political science approaches in comparative extremism and transformation research also gained in importance. In addition, the HAIT received its own periodical with the magazine Totalitarismus und Demokratie . After Besier had repeatedly come under public criticism due to a controversial appearance at the Scientology organization in Brussels and the majority of the institute employees had expressed their distrust in an internal statement, his contract was not extended. As a result, from November 2007 the deputy director Clemens Vollnhals took over the interim management of the institute. Furthermore, given the recent turbulence in the mid of the same year was the Board of Trustees a structural commission chaired by Martin Sabrow been used, their recommendations finally in a statutory led restructuring of the association and the board of trustees.

2009-2017

Since October 2009, contemporary historian Günther Heydemann , who is also a professor at the Department of History at Leipzig University , has been the director of HAIT. Under his leadership, research on National Socialism in Saxony in particular experienced a stronger emphasis, which, however, did not remain undisputed in the political environment of the institute. Nevertheless succeeded Heyde man - apart from incidents around in November 2010 as a former IM unmasked longtime Institute Staff Michael Richter and the imprint of a fictitious entry in the Institute magazine in December 2015 - which pulled in the past by several crises affected HAIT back into calmer waters and to focus on his core business of basic research in contemporary history and political science. After Heydemann's retirement due to old age, Clemens Vollnhals was again entrusted with the provisional management of the HAIT from October 2016.

Since 2017

Interior of the HAIT.

The current director of the HAIT is the contemporary historian Thomas Lindenberger , who was appointed jointly with the TU Dresden in October 2017 and previously worked as a department head at the Center for Contemporary History Research . After taking office, the institute's research activities were increasingly opened up to questions about social and political transformation processes in post-socialist societies. In addition, an evaluation by a committee of experts appointed by the Science Council took place in March 2019 under the direction of Caspar Hirschi , which certified the institute to be an “important catalyst for contemporary history and political science research” as well as “valuable and indispensable contributions to the scientific support of the In memory of the victims of the Nazi dictatorship and the SED regime as well as with regard to political education in Saxony in general ”.

Research profile

The research activity of the HAIT concentrates - following on from the complete works of its namesake - on the comparative analysis of dictatorships as well as the reflection of the historical-political conditions for liberal-democratic orders. According to the mandate of the statutes, the systematic investigation of political, social and cultural developments during the Nazi and SED dictatorship is at the center of the work. A special focus is on the analysis of the opposition and resistance to those two German dictatorships of the 20th century. In addition, international and intertemporal comparative perspectives on other fascist and state socialist regimes are part of the research program, as is the examination of the political, economic and social transformation in the post-communist countries after 1989. The institute is also dedicated to researching current challenges and dangers to democracy , especially through autocratic and fundamentalist regimes and through extremist , racist and anti-Semitic attitudes and movements.

From this point of view, the work at HAIT is currently divided into five research fields:

  • Research on the Nazi dictatorship,
  • Research on the history of communist dictatorships, especially the SED dictatorship,
  • Transformation research from an international comparative perspective,
  • Theoretical and historical bases of dictatorship research,
  • Research on political extremism.

Cooperation partner

In Germany, the HAIT cooperates on the basis of an agreement on cooperation as an affiliated institute with the TU Dresden , in particular with the local Institute for History , the Institute for Political Science and the Center for Integration Studies . In addition, there is cooperation with twelve universities and eleven non-university research institutions , research museums and other institutions. There are also partnerships with ten universities and non-university research institutes abroad, primarily in North America and the various regions of Europe .

The institutions outside the TU Dresden include the Department of Political Science at the University of Aarhus , the Department of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Belgrade , the Federal Foundation for the Processing of the SED Dictatorship , Berlin, the Berlin Science Center for Social Research (WZB) and the Institute for Political Science the Masaryk University in Brno , the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at the Central European University Budapest , the Institute of Saxon history and folklore (ISGV), Dresden, Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) at the University of Gothenburg , the Research Group Authoritarian Politics at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, the Competence Center for Right-Wing Extremism and Democracy Research (KReDo) at the University of Leipzig , the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), Leipzig, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA), Ljubljana, the department f For contemporary history from the Complutense University of Madrid , the Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe (HI), Marburg, the University of Politics (HfP), Munich, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris, the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History Research (ZZF), Potsdam, the Institute for International Studies at the Charles University in Prague , the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS), Regensburg, the Institute for Political Science at the University of Ottawa , the Institute for Eastern European History at the University of Vienna and the Research and Advice Center Terrorism / Extremism (BTE) at the Federal Criminal Police Office , Wiesbaden, an important cooperation partner.

Knowledge transfer

A central component of the activities of the HAIT is the communication of its own research results to a broad public, as required by the statutes . Against this background, there is continuous cooperation with various memorial sites , providers of historical-political educational work , teacher training institutions , schools and civil society actors who regularly make use of the advisory , training and lecture offers provided by the institute . This applies, among other things, to the Saxon Memorials Foundation to commemorate the victims of political tyranny , the Saxon State Center for Political Education , the Dresden State Art Collections , the Dresden City Museum and the Saxon state offices of party-affiliated foundations such as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation , the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Wilhelm Külz Foundation .

Publications

In the classic print media segment, the HAIT's publication profile includes a specialist journal and four scientific book series , some of which are published with cooperation partners. In addition, the institute provides the interested research public with several databases focused on contemporary history .

magazine

Series of publications

Writings of the HAIT.

Databases

Library

HAIT library.

The HAIT maintains its own special library , whose currently around 52,000 volumes (as of January 2020) are open to the academic and general public for reference use . The collection areas are largely based on the research focus of the institute. There is primarily literature on the history of National Socialism , the Soviet Zone / GDR and the transformation after 1989, as well as on dictatorships and political extremism in Europe. Furthermore, an extensive range of approx. 550 relevant specialist magazines and daily newspapers can be accessed.

Committees and people

The HAIT has the legal form of a registered association to which legal entities under private and public law - including the Free State of Saxony, represented by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism - belong as voting members. According to its statutes , the management of the association is incumbent on a board of directors with the official title of director, who - supported by his two deputies - manages the day-to-day business. The director is appointed by the board of trustees in consultation with the scientific advisory board for a fixed term of five years. The board of trustees monitors the fulfillment of the statutory tasks of the association. It consists of seven voting members who are elected or appointed as representatives of various institutions specified in the statutes for a term of office of five years. The Scientific Advisory Board advises the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors on all scientific questions of importance. It has between five and nine voting members who are appointed by the Technical University of Dresden , the University of Leipzig or the Board of Trustees in consultation with the Board of Directors for a term of office of five years.

Directorate

former

Scientific staff

Senior Researcher

Postdocs

former

Sponsoring association

Board of Trustees

  • Alfons Kenkmann , representative of the Scientific Advisory Board (since 2017)
  • Karl Lenz - Vice Chairman, Representative of the Technical University of Dresden (since 2010)
  • Thomas Lindenberger - in an advisory capacity, Director of HAIT (since 2017)
  • Martin Modschiedler , representative of the Saxon state parliament
  • Martin Schulze Wessel, representative of the general assembly of the sponsoring association (since 2018)
  • Hans Vorländer , representative of the Scientific Advisory Board (since 2016)
  • Caroline Wagner - Chairwoman, representative of the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (since 2009)
  • Hans Wiesmeth, representative of the Saxon Academy of Sciences (since 2015)

Scientific Advisory Board

literature

  • Speeches for the opening of the Hannah Arendt Institute on June 17, 1993. Self-published, Dresden 1993, DNB 941395464 .
  • Michael Richter : The Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism. A child of the "turning point". In: Heiner Timmermann (Hrsg.): Dictatorships in Europe in the 20th century - the case of the GDR. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-428-08957-X , pp. 721-730.
  • Gerhard Barkleit, Michael Richter: The Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarian Research at the TU Dresden . In: Heiner Timmermann (Ed.): The GDR - Politics and Ideology as an Instrument. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-09553-7 , pp. 37-48.
  • Ten years of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism V. at the Technical University of Dresden. Self-published, Dresden 2003, ISBN 3-931648-44-3 .
  • Horst Schneider : The Hannah Arendt Institute in a conflict of political interests. Spotless, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-933544-96-3 .

Web links

Commons : Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annual report 2018 (PDF; 9.1 MB) In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Lars Rensmann : Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism… In: Samuel Salzborn (Ed.): Classics of the Social Sciences. 100 key works in portrait . 2nd Edition. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 3-658-13212-4 , p. 187-192 .
  3. ↑ Uwe Backes : Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism… In: Steffen Kailitz (Ed.): Key works of political science . VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 3-531-14005-1 , p. 8-12 .
  4. ↑ a b Klaus-Dietmar Henke : Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarism Research e. V. at the TU Dresden . In: Ulrich Mählert (Hrsg.): Vademekum DDR research. A guide to archives, research institutions, libraries, institutions of political education, associations, museums and memorials . 2nd Edition. Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1999, ISBN 3-8100-2326-4 , p. 359 f .
  5. ↑ CDU parliamentary group: Application for the establishment of an institute for research into totalitarian structures (working title). (PDF; 218 kB) Printed matter 1/961 of the Saxon State Parliament. In: landtag.sachsen.de. November 21, 1991, accessed January 27, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Albert Funk: Beyond the political battle word. Dresden Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarian Research inaugurated . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 22, 1993, p. 31 .
  7. ^ Rainer Hoffmann: manifestations of totalitarianism. A Hannah Arendt Institute in Dresden . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . June 29, 1993, p. 22 .
  8. ↑ Gerhard Barkleit , Michael Richter : The Hannah Arendt Institute for the Research on Totalitarianism at the Technical University Dresden . In: Heiner Timmermann (Ed.): The GDR - Politics and Ideology as an Instrument . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-09553-7 , pp. 37–48 , here p. 43 .
  9. ↑ Patricia Glöß: The new head of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarian Research in Dresden wants to fulfill an educational mandate . In: Dresdner Latest News . March 18, 1997, p. 4 .
  10. ^ Albert Funk: Enlightenment scientifically sober. Hannah Arendt Institute in Dresden . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . April 1, 1997, p. 4 .
  11. ↑ Lothar Fritze : The bomb in the Bürgerbräukeller. The attack on Hitler on November 8, 1939. Attempt to make a moral assessment of the assassin Johann Georg Elser . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . November 8, 1999, p. 9 .
  12. ↑ Richard Herzinger : The measure. The director of the Hannah Arendt Institute has to go. In: The time . September 21, 2000, p. 49 , accessed January 27, 2020 .
  13. ^ Joachim Käppner : History lessons in the haunted house. How one of the most respected historical institutes in Germany is being crushed between party politics and historical disputes . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . November 10, 2000, p. 13 .
  14. ↑ From the point of view of Klaus-Dietmar Henke : Interest and knowledge. A lesson in concerted crisis management in the humanities using the example of the Hannah Arendt Institute in Dresden 1999–2002 . In: Journal of History . tape 51 , no. 3 , 2003, ISSN  0044-2828 , p. 205-236 .
  15. ↑ From the point of view of Ulrich von Hehl, a member of the Advisory Board at the time : “A German Affair”? Observations on the course of the conflict at the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism . In: Manfred Hettling , Uwe Schirmer , Susanne Schötz (ed.): Figures and structures . Saur, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-598-11585-7 , pp. 120-139 .
  16. ^ Report on the evaluation of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. May 11, 2002, archived from the original on November 9, 2002 ; accessed on January 27, 2020 .
  17. ^ Ingolf Pleil: Hannah Arendt Institute. New boss does not want to be fixated on GDR times . In: Dresdner Latest News . February 8, 2003, p. 4 .
  18. ↑ Sven Felix Kellerhoff : Comparative Studies on Democracy and Dictatorship. In: The world . April 14, 2003, p. 29 , accessed January 27, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Andreas Platthaus : Sympathy for Scientology is not one of the tasks of a director. The Hannah Arendt Institute separates from Gerhard Besier . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . April 10, 2007, p. 46 .
  20. ↑ Klaus Wiegrefe , Steffen Winter: The professor and the sect. In: Der Spiegel . May 7, 2007, p. 48 , accessed January 27, 2020 .
  21. ↑ From the perspective of Gerhard Besier : Inappropriate behavior and social control. Experience report of a successful scandal . In: Religion - State - Society . tape 9 , no. 1 , 2008, ISSN  1438-955X , p. 93-107 .
  22. ↑ Annual report 2009 (PDF; 2.6 MB) In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Oliver Reinhard: No experiments. The appointment of Günther Heydemann as director should finally bring peace to the Hannah Arendt Institute in Dresden . In: Saxon newspaper . July 8, 2009, p. 8 .
  24. ^ Sven Felix Kellerhoff : Remove the rubble. In: The world . October 5, 2009, p. 23 , accessed January 27, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Thilo Alexe: “It's about a lot more than the Stasi”. The GDR must be further researched scientifically, says Arnold Vaatz ; he rejects the change of course at the Arendt Institute . In: Saxon newspaper . June 1, 2011, p. 8 .
  26. ↑ Jürgen Kochinke: Director Heydemann wants to shift focus at the Hannah Arendt Institute - criticism from the CDU . In: Dresdner Latest News . June 8, 2011, p. 4 .
  27. ↑ Dirk Banse, Uwe Müller : The secret of the CDU chronicler. The historian Michael Richter once served the Stasi as an informant. In: The world . November 17, 2010, p. 4 , accessed January 27, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Thomas Mayer: Dresden Hannah Arendt Institute draws conclusions in the case of Michael Richter, who worked as IM . In: Dresdner Latest News . November 24, 2010, p. 4 .
  29. ↑ Philip Oltermann: Human-animal studies academics dogged by German hoaxers. Editors of Dresden-based journal apologize after being fooled by fake PhD student's paper on role of alsatians in totalitarianism. In: The Guardian . March 1, 2016, accessed January 27, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Martin Machowecz : The dog misery. How the German-German Shepherd caused an academic scandal at the Dresden Technical University. In: The time . April 14, 2016, p. 11 , accessed January 27, 2020 .
  31. ↑ Oliver Reinhard: It's no longer just about German dictatorships. The Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Research was founded in Dresden 20 years ago . In: Saxon newspaper . June 27, 2013, p. 9 .
  32. ↑ Rainer Blasius : The name obliges. The Dresden Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism has existed for twenty years . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . August 7, 2013, p. 8 .
  33. ↑ New director appointed for the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarian Research at the TU Dresden. Press release from the Saxon State Chancellery . In: medienservice.sachsen.de. September 20, 2017, accessed January 27, 2020 .
  34. ^ Statement on the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarian Research eV (HAIT), Dresden. (PDF; 424 kB) Printed paper 8265-20 of the Science Council. In: Wissenschaftsrat.de. January 31, 2020, p. 8 , accessed February 3, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Science Council takes a close look at the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism. Press release from the Saxon State Chancellery . In: medienservice.sachsen.de. February 3, 2020, accessed February 3, 2020 .
  36. ↑ Research - Overview. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  37. ↑ Regional, national and international cooperation. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  38. ↑ Journal “Totalitarismus und Demokratie”. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  39. ↑ Series of publications - overview. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  40. ^ Database "The Freedom Struggle". In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  41. ^ Project "Virtual Archives for Research in the Humanities". In: saw-leipzig.de. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  42. ^ Database "Film Censorship East-West". In: filmzensur-ostwest.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  43. ^ Andreas Hilger , Ute Schmidt , Günther Wagenlehner (eds.): Soviet military tribunals . tape 1 : The conviction of German prisoners of war 1941–1953 . Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-412-06701-6 .
  44. ^ Andreas Hilger, Mike Schmeitzner , Ute Schmidt (eds.): Soviet military tribunals . tape 2 : The conviction of German civilians 1945–1955 . Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-412-06801-2 .
  45. ↑ Michael Richter , Erich Sobeslavsky: The group of the 20th social awakening and political opposition in Dresden 1989/90 . Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-412-06499-8 .
  46. ↑ Karin Urich: The citizens' movement in Dresden 1989/90 . Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-412-06801-2 .
  47. ↑ Michael Richter: The formation of the Free State of Saxony. Peaceful revolution, federalization, German unity 1989/90 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-36900-X .
  48. ↑ Michael Richter: The Peaceful Revolution. Departure to democracy in Saxony 1989/90 . 2 volumes. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 3-525-36914-X .
  49. ↑ About the library. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .
  50. ^ Articles of Association. In: hait.tu-dresden.de. Retrieved January 27, 2020 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 1 ′ 46.4 ″  N , 13 ° 43 ′ 27.5 ″  E