Institute for Foreign Relations

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Institute for Foreign Relations e. V. ( ifa ) is a German intermediary organization for international cultural exchange based in Stuttgart and Berlin . As the oldest German intermediary organization for foreign cultural policy , the ifa is committed to art exchange , dialogue between civil societies and the communication of foreign cultural policy information around the world .

The ifa has been located in the “ old orphanage ” on Charlottenplatz in Stuttgart since 1925.

history

Foundation (1917)

On January 10, 1917, the forerunner of today's Institute for Foreign Relations was founded in Stuttgart. The Museum and Institute for the Customer of German Abroad and for the Promotion of German Interests Abroad , which was renamed the German Foreign Institute (DAI) that same year , was primarily based on the idea and commitment of the Stuttgart entrepreneur Theodor Wanner (1875–1955 ) back. The institute was jointly supported by the German Reich , the Kingdom of Württemberg and the city of Stuttgart.

Post-war period and the Weimar Republic: the development phase (1918 to 1933)

After the end of the war in 1918, the DAI endeavored to improve Germany's ruined reputation in the world and the social position of Germans abroad. Subsequently, the institute was primarily responsible for advising people willing to emigrate, for looking after Germans abroad, but also for organizing exhibitions and publishing a magazine. The scientific character of the institute was further strengthened by a specialist library for foreign studies, the press and news service and its extensive archive. During this time, the DAI was headed by Theodor Wanner and the political scientist and publicist Fritz Wertheimer (1884–1968). The latter was installed as Secretary General on October 1, 1918. During the Weimar Republic, the DAI was divided into several departments, subdivided into regions and areas of responsibility. In 1926 there was also a North America report. In the years 1926/1927 the institute had about 50 employees. Since the spring of 1925, the DAI has been housed in a former orphanage on Charlottenplatz in Stuttgart, converted by the architect Paul Schmitthenner. The building was inaugurated in 1924 as the "House of Germanism". In addition to the rooms for the various departments, the complex also included a radio studio. Wanner and Wertheimer used this to produce their own DAI broadcasts, which were mostly broadcast on Südfunk. In addition to the bi-monthly publication “Der Auslandsdeutsche” published by Wertheimer, the DAI also published a number of book series and scientific handbooks. From 1928 the DAI had to struggle with financial difficulties. As a result, exhibition activities in particular had to be restricted. However, the work of the institute was also affected by the political uncertainties and unrest in the country. The management of the DAI was repeatedly attacked by the rising right-wing extremists.

Period of National Socialism (1933 to 1945)

The transfer of power to the National Socialists had profound consequences for the DAI. On March 7, 1933, the seat of the institute was occupied by the SA. The DAI was brought into line. Fritz Wertheimer, who emigrated to Brazil in 1938, was deposed because of his Jewish descent. And the founder and chairman of the board, Theodor Wanner, was also relieved of his office. He was replaced by the NSDAP Mayor of Stuttgart, Karl Strölin (1890–1963). Richard Csaki (1886–1943) was appointed director of the institute, but in 1941 he gave up his post to the National Socialist Hermann Rüdiger (1889–1946). Under the new leadership, the institute was misused. The tasks and responsibilities changed fundamentally. They were described in 1934 in the brochure New Tasks of the German Foreign Institute. According to this, the institute should in the future primarily concern itself with spreading the National Socialist worldview among Germans abroad and, if necessary, training them to become soldiers of the Third Reich. Within a very short period of time, the DAI developed into a planning center for the folk politics of the Hitler regime. The program included the propagation of German “racial policy” and the “Germanization” of foreign areas. The DAI was involved in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of resettlements in the conquered Eastern European areas. There was close cooperation and a lively exchange of information with the Gestapo, the NSDAP and the Foreign Policy Office of the NSDAP. How important the DAI was for the new rulers is shown by the constant expansion that the institute experienced under the rule of the National Socialists. While the DAI had around 50 employees in 1926/1927, this number rose to 157 by the outbreak of war in 1939. At the same time, the budget was continuously increased. From 1935 on, the Ministry of Propaganda was one of the donors.

With the beginning of the Second World War, the DAI expanded its activities, above all it supported the National Socialist, racist propaganda. In addition, the institute had a direct influence on the war. The DAI provided maps that gave information about the distribution of the population groups in Eastern Europe and thus provided essential information for resettlement campaigns and deportations in the occupied territories. Intensive cooperation with the SS developed. In addition, unwelcome advice seekers were denounced again and again. Due to the successful advance of the Allies, the work of the DAI was further restricted in the following years. It ended temporarily in 1943.

Post-war period and re-establishment (1949 to 1951)

The DAI was by no means unaffected in the Third Reich. However, the Allies took the opposite view and allowed the institute to continue. They had been deceived by statements of good repute and embellished depictions of former employees. On July 5, 1949, the re-establishment was decided. The German Foreign Institute was renamed the Institute for Foreign Relations (ifa). In 1951 the institute officially resumed its activities. In a speech he gave on the occasion of the reopening, Federal President Theodor Heuss described the institute as an “elementary school for international dealings”, a “hub” for cultural give and take. Franz Thierfelder (1896–1963) was to initiate the new beginning as general secretary of the ifa. But the cultural politician was controversial due to his ideological writings at the time of the Third Reich. In fact, Thierfelder, who had survived the denazification unscathed, abandoned his old ideas. According to his idea, the institute should from now on primarily work to make “foreign” understandable and to bring its own culture closer to foreign countries. The renunciation of the past propagated by the institute was received positively in the Foreign Office and honored with financial support. This ensured the long-term existence of the ifa.

New beginning (1951 to 1989)

The new beginning of the ifa turned out to be difficult. The reputation of the institute was damaged after the Nazi era; many contacts, for example to Eastern Europe, had broken down; the Cold War era began. In addition, there was competition with other intermediary organizations such as the Goethe-Institut, less financial leeway than before and the limited visibility abroad, which was also due to the foreign policy of the time, which hardly attached any importance to culture. The efficiency of the ifa remained correspondingly limited during this time. The institute's activities consisted of advising emigrants, publishing its own magazine (1951–1962 "Mitteilungen", from 1962 "Zeitschrift für Kultur Austausch" and since 2006 "Kulturausch - Zeitschrift für Internationale Perspektiven"), expanding the in-house library, and sending it abroad book donations and the organization of exhibitions. Only gradually did the relations with other countries become closer again, the social influence of the ifa increased. However, the institute did not begin to deal with its own position during National Socialism until the 1960s. In May 1971 the later ifa gallery was opened in Stuttgart, 1980 the ifa gallery in Bonn. At the beginning of the seventies, arranging exhibitions of German art abroad became the sole responsibility of ifa.

After reunification (1990 to 2017)

The fall of the Berlin Wall and German-German unification also brought about significant changes for the ifa. The takeover of the GDR art collection of the former ZfK (Center for Art Exhibitions) by the ifa attracted particular attention. During the time of the internal German division, the ZfK was the East German counterpart to the ifa. Among other things, it was responsible for organizing exhibitions at home and abroad and for cultural exchange in the GDR. The ZfK's art collection comprised prints, works on paper, photographs and paintings by numerous East German artists, a total of around 10,500 works. These should now, in accordance with the agreements in the standard contracts, be incorporated into the ifa. But the plan met with great resistance in the areas of the former GDR. The East German media expressed indignation about the "hostile takeover" by the Stuttgart institute. As a result, a merger of several East German museums demanded that various works of art be transferred to their own collections. Under pressure from museums and the media, a month before the former ZfK inventory was taken over, 219 works of art worthy of a museum were handed over to several East German museums. After reunification, ifa expanded its activities to include the new federal states. Efforts were consequently made to purchase works of art by East German artists and to display them. In addition, an ifa gallery was opened in Berlin in 1991. The ifa also worked intensively on improving its visibility abroad and in Germany's foreign policy structure. This could also be achieved with the help of various funding programs (including zivik - civil conflict management, the CrossCulture program, and art funding), several touring exhibitions, a research program, the specialist library for foreign cultural and educational policy, the cultural exchange magazine and numerous publications.

The transformation processes within Europe after the fall of the “Iron Curtain” also had consequences for the ifa. It began to work harder to protect minorities and to strengthen the European unification process. In addition, the intensification of the European-Islamic dialogue and the promotion of international peace projects and humanitarian aid came into focus. The new efforts were also expressed in the Theodor Wanner Prize, which was launched by the ifa in 2009 to honor personalities and organizations who are outstandingly committed to the dialogue between cultures, to peace and international understanding. Today ifa sees itself as an internationally active “cultural mediator”, a competence center for international cooperation and art exchange.

organization

The Institute for Foreign Relations was a public law institution until August 1997 . On August 26, 1997, the institute was transformed into an association.

The organs of the association are the general assembly, the executive committee and the general secretary. Ronald Grätz has been Secretary General since September 2008 . Ulrich Raulff is expected to take over the honorary position of President on October 1, 2018 . This position has been vacant since the death of former President Martin Roth on August 6, 2017.

The ifa is financed by the Federal Foreign Office , the state of Baden-Württemberg and the state capital Stuttgart. In addition, there is a support association, through whose membership fees projects can be implemented.

General Secretaries

  • 1918–1933 Fritz Wertheimer
  • 1933-1941 Richard Csaki
  • 1941–1945 Hermann Rüdiger
  • 1945–1950 Otto Kurz
  • 1951–1960 Franz Thierfelder
  • 1960–1989 Michael Rehs
  • 1990 Hans Schuhmann (provisional)
  • 1990–1994 Klaus Daweke
  • 1994–1997 Udo Rossbach (acting)
  • 1998–2008 Kurt-Jürgen Maaß
  • since 2008 Ronald Grätz

Chairwoman of the Board of Management (1917–1996)

  • 1917-1933 Theodor G. Wanner
  • 1933–1945 Karl Strölin
  • 1948–1949 Theodor Heuss
  • 1949–1951 Theodor G. Wanner
  • 1951–1967 Walter Erbe
  • 1968–1977 Adalbert Seifritz
  • 1978–1992 Wilhelm Hahn
  • 1992–1996 Paul Harro Piazolo

Presidents (from 1996)

Chairwoman of the Board of Directors (1917–1996)

  • 1917–1922 Wilhelm Herzog von Urach
  • 1922–1928 Paul von Hintze
  • 1928–1930 Hans Luther
  • 1930–1933 Wilhelm Solf
  • 1933–1945 Karl Strölin
  • 1949–1951 Hans Luther
  • 1951–1976 Alfons Baumgärtner
  • 1977–1996 Hans Schuhmann

goals and tasks

Under the slogan "Linking Cultures" , the Institute for Foreign Relations summarizes its primary tasks, which, according to the statutes, consist of promoting international understanding, intercultural dialogue and understanding for Germany abroad, in particular through international cooperation in the fields of art and culture Media, peacebuilding as well as information, research and training in the field of foreign cultural and educational policy exist.

The mission statement of the institute is shaped by the following focuses:

  • The ifa initiates intercultural dialogue: It promotes the exchange of culture and art in exhibition, encounter, dialogue and conference programs: It contributes to peacekeeping through civil conflict management and to cultural diversity through the promotion of cultural minorities.
  • The ifa is a competence center for foreign cultural and educational policy: It networks topics from practice with science and the media. It initiates, analyzes, moderates and documents discussions and questions about international cultural relations
  • The ifa promotes interest in Germany abroad: It mediates innovative positions from Germany through exchange programs, exhibitions, publications, lecture tours and visitor programs

implementation

The Institute for Foreign Relations conducts research and publishes studies on the subject of foreign cultural policy and intercultural dialogue. The homepage, studies and the specialist library in Stuttgart provide scientifically prepared and current information. Every quarter, the institute publishes the magazine Kulturausch , which has a circulation of 9,000 and reaches people in 146 countries.

As an intermediary organization with a focus on art, the Institute for Foreign Relations shows numerous touring exhibitions of German art around the world and provides insights into contemporary art, architecture and design from Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America in the ifa galleries in Stuttgart and Berlin.

With various funding and scholarship programs, the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations supports young professionals in the arts and culture, the dialogue with the Islamic world, projects by non-state actors in crisis regions as well as German minorities in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the CIS States.

When implementing the projects, the ifa cooperates with numerous international partners such as foundations and international organizations in the fields of culture, the media abroad and peacebuilding.

Science, research and information

The Institute for Foreign Relations offers comprehensive information on foreign cultural and educational policy (AKBP) and intercultural dialogue. The Internet portal, synergy studies and the specialist library in Stuttgart provide scientifically prepared and current information and are therefore important documentation centers for the AKBP.

The information portal "Culture and Foreign Policy" offers an overview of relevant foreign cultural policy issues sorted by topic and country. For the research program “Culture and Foreign Policy”, experts work on issues relating to foreign cultural and educational policy (AKBP). Intermediary organizations, business and media partners and universities cooperate with the ifa for expert support, for specialist conference organizations and publications of scientific contributions. WIKA (“Scientific Initiative Group for Culture and Foreign Policy”) is responsible for strengthening the presence of foreign cultural policy in studies, research and teaching.

The area of ​​the dialogue forums initiates meeting, dialogue and conference programs. In Germany, the event series "Foreign Policy Live - Diplomats in Dialogue" is offered, where German diplomats comment on current priorities in foreign policy. The federal government's lecture program, which sends German experts to give lectures in various countries, functions at the international level.

art

As an art mediator, the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations shows numerous touring exhibitions of contemporary German art, architecture and design worldwide. Numerous well-known artists from Germany have taken part in monographic or group exhibitions at the institute, including Günther Uecker , Rebecca Horn , Rosemarie Trockel , Sigmar Polke and Marcel Odenbach .

The ifa galleries in Stuttgart and Berlin represent platforms for lively, creative and open exchange, discourse and networking. Within Germany, the focus is on art from Asia, Africa, Central Eastern Europe and the Islamic world that takes up current cultural and socio-political developments and processed. In addition to all exhibitions, the ifa organizes a supporting program for children, young people and adults. The promotion of art and cultural exchange in exhibition, dialogue and conference programs is part of ifa's commitment to promoting intercultural understanding and peaceful coexistence.

The ifa has been coordinating the German pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1971 . Until 2009 it was also responsible for administrative German national contributions to the biennials in Sydney and São Paolo.

Library

According to its own statement, the ifa library is the world's only scientific special library for foreign cultural and educational policy and international cultural exchange. It is the official documentation center for the foreign cultural policy of the Federal Republic of Germany and thus the information service provider for the Bundestag, the Foreign Office and the federal and state ministries. In addition, the offer is aimed at scientists, young researchers, students and interested readers. With over 430,000 volumes and 1,000 magazines, it is connected to national and international lending. It provides basic texts of all kinds on foreign cultural policy. Her collecting areas include foreign cultural policy and international cultural relations, German-speaking population groups abroad, intercultural communication and exchange research, cultural geography, national stereotypes, minority and migration research. In addition to one of the most complete collections of German-language press abroad, the ifa library preserves copies of all publications by the Goethe Institute.

Civil conflict management

The zivik program (civil conflict management) advises the Federal Foreign Office and non-governmental organizations. In various stages, the methods range from training to non-violent conflict resolution to mediation between conflicting parties and trauma processing. The ifa is responsible for project support, evaluation and post-processing of the projects.

Intercultural dialogue

The “CrossCulture Program” enables young working people from Germany and the Islamic world to enter into an intercultural dialogue and gain professional and cultural experience through scholarship stays abroad. “CrossCulture Plus” is aimed specifically at people from the transition countries Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Jordan and Morocco.

Above all, German minorities in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) find support for positive social positioning through the integration and media sector. Various secondment programs send German specialists to institutions of German minorities in order to support interethnic dialogue and convey a modern image of Germany. The exchange of experience and added professional value should also be achieved through the cultural assistant program, in which junior staff practically get involved in institutions of German minorities as part of the program.

The courses German as a Foreign Language offered by the ifa German School are also part of the ifa educational program . In addition, there are thematically specific courses such as “German for Medicine”. Exam preparation and acceptance by TELC and TestDaF complete the program.

Prizes and awards

Theodor Wanner Prize

Since 2009 ifa has awarded the Theodor Wanner Prize to people with outstanding commitment to the dialogue between cultures. The award goes back to the initiative of the Friends of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations to honor individual and extraordinary achievements for intercultural dialogue with a festive award ceremony and in this way to give the cultural dialogue a public stage.

ifa research award for foreign cultural policy

With the ifa research prize “Foreign Cultural Policy”, the Institute for Foreign Relations annually honors an outstanding master's, diploma, master's thesis or dissertation that moves research forward to a particularly high degree. At the same time, an incentive should be given to research in the subject areas of foreign cultural policy. The prize is endowed with 3,000 euros.

Intercultural Film Award

With the "IFA", the "Intercultural Film Award", which is presented as part of the AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS festival, the ifa has been honoring a film since 2009 that addresses the topics of dialogue between cultures, both in terms of content and aesthetics. Cultural exchange or intercultural dialogue. These topics are goals and therefore the basis of the institute.

Publications

The following publications are issued by the Institute for Foreign Relations :

  • Cultural exchange - magazine for international perspectives
  • Culture report / EUNIC yearbook
  • ifa edition culture and foreign policy
  • WIKA report
  • ifa annual reports
  • Edition "Portraits"
  • Edition "Media Cultures"
  • Edition "Perspective Foreign Cultural Policy"

literature

  • Martin Seckendorf: German Foreign Institute . In: Michael Fahlbusch and Ingo Haar: Handbuch der Völkischen Wissenschaft: People - Institutions - Research Programs - Foundations . Munich 2008, pp. 140–149.
  • Michael Fahlbusch , Ingo Haar : Handbook of völkisch science: people - institutions - research programs - foundations . Saur, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-598-11778-7 .
  • Michael Fahlbusch: Science in the Service of National Socialist Politics? The “Volksdeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” from 1931–1945 . Nomos, Baden-Baden 1999, ISBN 3-7890-5770-3 .
  • Katja Gesche: Culture as an instrument of foreign policy in totalitarian states. The German Foreign Institute 1933–1945 . Böhlau, Cologne 2006, ISBN 978-3-412-01206-9 (also dissertation at the University of Stuttgart ).
  • Grant Grams: German Emigration to Canada and the Support of its Deutschtum during the Weimar Republic. The Role of the Deutsches Auslands-Institut , Verein für das Deutschtum Abroad and German-Canadian Organizations. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-631-37345-7 (= European university publications : Series 3, History and its auxiliary sciences , Vol. 889, also a dissertation at the University of Marburg 2000).
  • Institute for Foreign Relations (Ed.): Institute for Foreign Relations. A special topic of the Stuttgarter Zeitung and the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, January 17, 2007.
  • Institute for Foreign Relations (Hrsg.): 75 years Institute for Foreign Relations Stuttgart: 1917 to 1992. In: Journal for Cultural Exchange 42, 1992, pp. 141–154.
  • Institute for Foreign Relations (Ed.): 75 years Institute for Foreign Relations Stuttgart . Speeches at the ceremony January 10, 1992 Stuttgart New Castle. Stuttgart 1992.
  • Sebastian Körber: Pioneer in cultural dialogue - the Institute for Foreign Relations: Strengthening civil society through cultural dialogue . Stuttgart 2006.
  • Ernst Ritter: The German Foreign Institute in Stuttgart 1917–1945. An example of German Volkstumsarbeit between the world wars . Wiesbaden 1976 (Frankfurt historical treatises 14).
  • Andreas Rutz: Research on emigrants during National Socialism. Joseph Scheben and the German Foreign Institute. In: Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte , 105 (2018), pp. 34–63.

Web links

Commons : Institute for Foreign Relations  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Deutsches Auslandsinstitut (DAI), Stuttgart. University of Oldenburg, 2017, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  2. ↑ 100 years ifa - culture as a means of politics. Deutsche Welle, January 10, 2017, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Tailwind for a “cosmopolitan force”. Stuttgarter Zeitung, January 11, 2017, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  4. ^ The third pillar of German foreign policy. SWR, January 10, 2017, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  5. ^ The German Foreign Institute 1933-1945. ifa, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b Gesche, Katja: Culture as an instrument of the foreign policy of totalitarian states: the German Foreign Institute 1933-1945 . Böhlau, Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-412-01206-8 .
  7. ↑ a b Self-discovery with detours - The ifa after 1945. ifa, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Only those who change remain true to themselves - Das ifa 1997-2017. ifa, archived from the original on February 4, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Organization chart of the Institute for Foreign Relations. (PDF; 282 KB) ifa, March 2018, archived from the original on April 11, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Questions and answers about the ifa - How is the ifa financed? (PDF; 81 KB) (No longer available online.) Ifa, p. 2 , formerly in the original ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ifa.de  
  11. ↑ Connect cultures - with your help! ifa, archived from the original on December 27, 2017 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Mission statement. ifa, archived from the original on April 11, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Media data 2018. (PDF; 113 KB) ifa, 2018, p. 3 , accessed on April 4, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Foreign cultural and educational policy (AKBP). ifa, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Scientific Initiative Group on Culture and Foreign Policy (WIKA). ifa, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Foreign policy live - diplomats in dialogue. ifa, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Lecture program of the federal government. ifa, archived from the original on January 27, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Art. ifa, accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Steinmeier honors peace work. welt.de, January 10, 2017, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  20. ^ The ifa and biennials. ifa, January 10, 2017, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  21. ^ Library of the Institute for Foreign Relations (ifa). Working group of special libraries, accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  22. ↑ zivik creates a pool of experts. Platform for Civil Conflict Management, September 2003, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Concrete dialogue - “CrossCulture Program”. Federal Foreign Office, accessed April 10, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Minorities - building bridges between cultures. ifa, archived from the original on January 26, 2018 ; accessed on April 10, 2018 .
  25. ↑ ifa publications. (No longer available online.) Ifa, formerly in the original ; accessed on April 19, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / publications.ifa.de