Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology

Intergenerational projects

Learning history through oral-history-interviews

Our goal

People in East and West Germany, both those with and without an immigrant background, experienced the period of division and the transformation following 1989 in completely different ways. To arrive at a “shared memory” of German-German history, it is important to share our experiences with one another and to make this a topic of discussion in schools and in public discourse.

 

Interview studies

In two interview studies, people from East and West Germany were asked about their life stories and their experiences in a divided and reunified Germany. The interviews are being analyzed scientifically. 

 

Transfer projects

We use the interviews on the “Generationenportal” for school lesson plans, for the traveling exhibition “Connecting Generations,” and for the upcoming event series “Generations in Conversation.” 

Educational materials

With the help of the oral history projects “Generation 1975: Entering the new Germany at age 14” and “Generation Wall Construction,” lesson plans and other educational materials were developed in collaboration with the Generationenportal. The videos are also available for free use. The "Generationenportal" is a resource hosted on the state education server of the Center for School Quality and Teacher Education in Baden-Württemberg. 

 

 Educational materials 

Traveling exhibition

In the traveling exhibition “Connecting Generations,” eyewitnesses from East and West Germany share stories about their daily lives in a divided and reunified Germany through four thematic video installations. In addition to a feature film, individual videos displayed on five monitors invite visitors to immerse themselves in personal stories. Information panels and supplementary educational materials round out the exhibition.

 

To the traveling exhibition 

Publications on interview studies

  • Bertram, C. (2026, in Druck). «Geschichtsbewusstsein» in der «Generation 1975»: Typische Erzählweisen über die deutsch-deutsche Geschichte. Ergebnisse einer Oral History-Studie. In M. Nitsche & M. Waldis (Hrsg.), Geschichtslernen in der Krise. Hep-Verlag.
  • Bertram, C. (2026, in Druck). „Generationen verbinden“: Videos zur deutsch-deutschen Erinnerung als Beitrag für die Demokratiebildung. Eine Kooperation von Kunst, Kultur, Wissenschaft und Schule. In Scheiter, K. & Richter, D. (Hrsg.)., Professionelles Handeln in einer Kultur der Digitalität. Ergebnisse des Kompetenzzentrums Sprachen/Gesellschaft/Wirtschaft. (Reihe: Digitale Transformation von Schule und Fortbildung gestalten im Kompetenzverbund lernen:digital). Waxmann.
  • Bertram, C. (2023). Transformationen in einer diversen Gesellschaft am Beispiel der „Generation 1975“. In M. Oberle & M.-M. Stamer, Politische Bildung in der superdiversen Gesellschaft. Tagungsband der Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Politikdidaktik und politische Jugend- und Erwachsenenbildung (GPJE) 2021. (S. 170-178). Frankfurt a.M.: Wochenschau-Verlag. https://www.wochenschau-verlag.de/Politische-Bildung-in-der-superdiversen-Gesellschaft/41578
  • Bertram, C. (2020). Generation 1975 – Mit 14 ins neue Deutschland“ – Blick vom Osten und Westen auf die deutsche Teilungsgeschichte. In: S. Frech (Hrsg.), Vereint nach drei Jahrzehnten? (Themenheft der Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung, Baden-Württemberg), S. 81-88. 
    Frei verfügbar: https://www.lpb-bw.de/publikation-anzeige/bs-2020-1-2-vereint-nach-drei-jahrzehnten  
Project partners
Funding

Information on the funding for the transfer projects can be found on the respective project pages.