12 March | 19:00
Library Marienburg (OBGZ) | Nijmegen
On 12 March at 19:00, at the Library Marienburg (OBGZ) in Nijmegen we welcome British historian and author Keith Lowe for a compelling lecture on the legacy of the Second World War and the myths that shaped the postwar world.
After the lecture, all participants are warmly invited to join a visit to the Art of Remembrance exhibition at the House of Nijmegen History (Huis van de Nijmeegse Geschiedenis) in front of the library.
Lecture
In the aftermath of the Second World War, a new set of myths and beliefs were born that have sustained the world ever since: the myth of the hero, the myth of “brotherhood and unity”, the myth of the war as an existential struggle between good and evil. Such ideas gave postwar leaders the confidence to create a new world order based on international cooperation.
But as the generations who lived through the Second World War have begun to slip away, our belief system has also begun to crumble. In this lecture, Keith Lowe will outline the major myths that created the postwar world – and the consequences of their downfall today. The need for a new myth to unite Europe and the West has never been more urgent.
About the Speaker
Keith Lowe is a British author and historian, who specialises in the history and memory of the Second World War. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and on the historical advisory board of Liberation Route Europe. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. They include the international bestseller Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II, and, most recently, Naples 1944; War, Liberation and Chaos. He regularly lectures at universities and other institutions on both sides of the Atlantlic.
About the Programme
This lecture by Keith Lowe at the public library is part of the programme organised around the Art of Remembrance exhibition, opening on 10 March at the House of Nijmegen History (until March 31); the exhibition brings together international artists who undertook residencies at World War II remembrance sites across Europe, engaging with archives, landscapes and local communities to reflect on memory as fragile and ongoing.
The exhibition is co-funded by the European Union, vfonds, the Mondriaan Fund, the City of Nijmegen and the Province of Gelderland and created by Tempora, the LRE Foundation, Sybir Memorial Museum, Nuto Revelli Foundation, the City of Bastogne and the Bastogne War Museum and La Coupole Museum.
This lecture is part of a series of events kindly supported by the City of Nijmegen.
