Opening event – Wassenaar 1952: Re-inventing Reparations

In March 1952, representatives of the state of Israel, the Jewish Claims Conference, and the Federal Republic of Germany met at the luxury hotel Kasteel Oud Wassenaar, a stone’s throw from the center of Dutch government in The Hague. For the next five months, they worked hard to negotiate an unprecedented agreement on reparations (Wiedergutmachung / Shilumim). In the uncharted territory after the Second World War and the Holocaust, a novel and controversial approach to reparations emerged. But what is the history of those negotiations, and what is their legacy and significance today?

Exactly seven decades later, the time is ripe for a retrospective on those difficult and important talks. Thanks to the support of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Utrecht Young Academy and the Alfred Landecker Foundation, an international event and academic symposium will take place, aiming to re-assess the history and legacy of those negotiations.

The opening event will be held at Kasteel Oud Wassenaar, Park Oud Wassenaar 1, 2243 BX Wassenaar, from 18:00 till 21:00. The event will include a welcome reception (standing dinner), followed by a series of presentations and a Q&A session with the audience. Register via the following form: https://tinyurl.com/2p94enxs. Alternatively, you can sign up by sending an email to: wassenaar1952@uu.nl.
You can sign up to participate in the event in person or remotely. Please note that there is only a limited amount of in-person places available.

Speakers include:
• H.E. Cyrill Jean Nunn, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Prof. Ido de Haan, Professor of Political History, Utrecht University

Chair and Moderation:
• Dr. Lorena De Vita, Assistant Professor, History of International Relations, Utrecht University
• Prof. Jacco Pekelder, Director, Zentrum für Niederlande-Studien, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster