Postwar Worlds: Past, Present, and Future

Postwar Worlds, Past, Present, and Future

The year 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The brutal destruction of entire states, the tragedy of death, the wounds of survivors and, most importantly, the knowledge of the civilizational breakdown represented by the Holocaust and the Nazi ideology of extermination, have profoundly shaped our world. The complex heritage of WWII and its aftermath is reflected in current crises and conflicts; these conflicts, in turn, alter our historical perspective on the end of the Second World War. The 80th anniversary comes at a critical juncture. We are facing the end of the post-Cold War world order, which marks the end of the liberal and Western vision of the future. The promise of a new – and more just – world seems to have vanished for many generations, while wars and conflicts are at the forefront of our minds, often mobilizing military personnel and economic resources in the West.

Reflecting on the end of WWII in the context of complex global transformations provides the starting point for this series of international conferences, which will take place in three different capital cities that are symbolic places of the end of the Second World War and offer complementary perspectives today, three generations later: Berlin, Paris, and New York City.

This series of conferences is jointly organized by Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne University, Europa Universität Viadrina (Frankfurt / Oder), the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, and Columbia University.

The series will examine the end of the war from a comparative historical perspective, whilst defining a specific thematic outlook for each of the three cities. The Berlin conference will focus on the situation in Germany and Eastern Europe. The Paris conference will reflect on colonial spaces, including the end of conflicts in North Africa and Asia. The New York conference will adopt a comprehensive approach and will explore the institutional foundations of the post-war world order.

420 West 118th Street 1512 New York, NY 10027

Room 1512

Buell Hall, 515 W 116th St, New York, NY 10027

Program:

Tuesday, October 7th

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, IAB (1512)

420 W 118th St, New York, NY 10027

9:00 – 9:45 Registration and Coffee

9:45 – 10:00 Opening Remarks

Emmanuel Kattan, Director, Alliance Program

Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor of History Emerita, Columbia University

Fabien Théofilakis, Professor of History, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris

10:00 - 11:00 Keynote

Mark Mazower (Columbia University), “Anniversaries, Generations and the Memory of 1945”

11:00 - 13:00 Panel 1 – Immediate Postwar Issues

Chair & Commentator: Fabien Théofilakis (Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne)

Norman Domeier (Univerzita Karlova, Czech republic), “Germany will try it again. Fears of a "Third World War" after 1945 among former American foreign correspondents in Nazi Germany”

Jan Lambertz (USHMM), “From Social Death to Legal Death: Legislating the End of the Holocaust

Gerhard Wolf (University of Sussex), “Foundational violence: Ethnic interventions for a new European order”

Matthew Augustine (Kyushu University), “Occupying an Empire: Decolonization, Nationalization, and the Hegemonic Reordering of Northeast Asia”

13:00 - 14:00 BREAK FOR LUNCH

14:00 -16:00 Panel 2 – The US and the Postwar World

Chair & Commentator: Emmanuel Kattan (Alliance Program)

Paul Chamberlin (Columbia University),”US and the world”

Ayumi Teraoka (Brandeis University), “The Postwar Order in Asia: Built to Last?”

Ruth Lawlor (Cornell University), “The Good Neighbour, the Global War and the Problem of 1945”

Penny Von Eschen (The University of Virginia), “Roads Not Taken: the end of the age of three worlds”

Wednesday, October 8th

Maison Française, Columbia University

Buell Hall, 515 W 116th St, New York, NY 10027

8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 11:00 Panel 3 – Justice, Human Rights and International Relations

Chair: Carol Gluck (Columbia University)

Vanessa Voisin (University of Bologna), “The case that must not be lost: Fëdor Fedorenko, US denaturalization trials, and civil society”

Franziska Seraphim, (Boston College), “Conjunctures in Righting Historical Wrongs at the Turn of the Millennium”

Valerie Rosoux (UCLouvain), “Memory versus Reconciliation: Dilemma of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding”

Oleksandra Matviitchouk (Head of the Center for civil Liberties), “International Human Rights and Ukraine across 80 Years: A Defender's Perspective »

Commentator: Graeme Simpson (Columbia University)

11:00 – 12:15 BREAK FOR LUNCH

12:15 – 14:15 Panel 4 – Legacies of the War, 1945-2025

Chair & Commentator: Annette Weinke (Jena Universität)

Michele Mioni (Ca’ Foscari University – Venice), “The Rise (and Fall?) of Social Security as a Universalist Vision of the Post-War International Order, 1940s-1970s”

Caroline Perret (University of Westminster), “War and Nature: Environmental Impacts of the Second World War on French Land, Forests and Marshlands - From Its Aftermath to Today”

Burcu Miraç Diraor Aydin (Gedik University, Turkey), “International Funding and Development Cooperation: The Role of Post-WWII Reconstruction Aid in Shaping Modern Funding Mechanisms”

Christopher J. Lee (Independent Scholar), “Bandung Historicism: Diplomacy and Realignment after the Second World War”

14:15 – 14: 30 Coffee Break

14: 45 – 16:15 Panel 5 - The World Order, 2025 and Beyond

Chair & Commentator: Elisabeth Saunders (Columbia University)

Adam Tooze (Columbia University), “The Future of the World Economy”

Julian Gewirtz (SIPA), “China and "Great Changes Not Seen in a Century"”

Arne Westad (Yale University)

Jon Finer (Columbia University)

16:15 – 16:30 Concluding Remarks

Emmanuel Kattan, Director, Alliance Program

Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor of History Emerita, Columbia University

Fabien Théofilakis, Professor of History, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris

Guided Campus Map(s): Please note the event takes place in two different locations.

All our events are free and open to the public, but please note that registration does not guarantee a seat. We intentionally overbook our events, and seating is first come, first served. We recommend arriving early.

Important:

Columbia’s campus is currently open only to Columbia-affiliated guests (with a valid CUID).
If you do not have a Columbia ID, you will need a QR code to enter campus.

To receive a QR code:

• You must register on Eventbrite at least 48 hours in advance
• We will submit your name and email to Public Safety the day before the event.
• You will receive an email from with your unique QR code

Please check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see the email, and bring a valid photo ID with you to present at campus entry points.

For any inquires related to this event, please contact: [email protected]

Host or Publisher Alliance Program