Perceptions of World War II

Last year it was 75 years since the end of the Second World War. The effects of the war are still visible and felt today in Dutch culture: the horrors and heroes are illustrated in countless books and films. But how have our narratives and images of the war changed over time? Our perception of the past is dynamic and our collective memory has been shaped by and reflected in books, films, monuments made in the decades following the war. How have the themes and narratives of WOII changed over time? And how do we remember it nowadays?

Tom Wilcox will host a conversation with Frank van Vree, director of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Lien de Jong, a Jewish war survivor and the main character of recent award-winning book The Cut Out Girl, and David Stroband, art historian and visual art teacher at Minerva Art Academy.

Meet the Dutch
In the series Meet the Dutch we go beyond the stereotypes to understand Dutch culture, as reflected in film, music, literature and art. Together with an interdisciplinary panel of guests, we take an in-depth look at the rich (sub)cultures of the Netherlands, and investigate how recent, lived history and culture shapes the norms of everyday life in the Netherlands today. The series is a collaboration between Studium Generale and City Central.

For this edition we collaborate with Forum Groningen.