Call for Papers: Annual Conference of the MHC for Modern History 2-4 September

„Reckoning and Remembrance: Germany, Ukraine, and the Second World War after 1945“

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich: 2 – 4 September 2026

Submission deadline: 4 May 2026

The Second World War constituted – in a negative sense – the central period of German-Ukrainian relations in the twentieth century. Alongside Poland and Belarus, Ukraine was among the countries that suffered most under German occupation, experiencing mass crimes including the Shoah, the mass murder of prisoners of war, and an occupation regime marked by repression, destruction, exploitation, and the widespread use of forced labour. The long-standing silence surrounding these crimes and the delayed process of coming to terms with them have shaped German–Ukrainian relations in the post-war period up to the present day. This also applies to the complex and contested issue of collaboration between Nazi Germany and Ukrainian nationalist organisations in the period preceding and during the war.

This conference invites proposals for papers that examine the significance of German crimes, as well as Ukrainian resistance or collaboration during the Second World War, from the perspective of their historiographical and legal treatment and their representation in public memory from 1945 to the present.

In post-war narratives, Ukraine’s suffering and sacrifices under German occupation and in the war against Nazi Germany were largely subsumed under the history of the Soviet Union, while Ukraine itself was frequently associated primarily with collaboration. This pattern was evident both in the German Democratic Republic, where elements of Soviet propaganda were adopted, and in the Federal Republic of Germany. The conference therefore also welcomes case studies that analyse the images of Ukraine and Ukrainian nationalism that circulated in both German states, as well as the political, cultural, and social contexts in which these representations emerged and spread.

Organisers: Yaroslav Hrytsak, Martin Schulze Wessel, Kai Struve

Please send an abstract (maximum 300 words) and a short CV by 4 May 2026 at the latest to Franziska Kokorsch (f.kokorsch@lmu.de).

Travel expenses and accommodation during the conference will be covered by the organisers. Due to the ongoing war, the conference will take place in a hybrid format. Participation is possible both on site and online.