Narratives of yesterday and tomorrow. Self-images of German cities between references to the past and visions for the future, 1900-1960 (II)

The main aim of this project is to analyze self-images of German cities in the period of high industrialization. Its focus will be on the narratives that urban elites used on certain occasions to express different self-images of their cities. The study will try to clarify the respective relationships between references to the city's past or local traditions on the one hand and the development of visions for the future or the use of narratives of modernity and progress on the other.The project will mainly concentrate on narratives of officials, but the production, dissemination and practical implementation of different ideas about the relationship between the city's past, present and future in their public context will be analyzed as well. By looking closely at the conflicts emerging around the narratives, it will be shown in which ways the ideas underpinning them are grounded in the society and how they link to social structure and political power. For this purpose, the study will look at special occasions for producing narratives of past and future: prefaces to books on the city's history, greeting statements (Grußworte) for all kind of public anniversaries, urban festivities (Stadtfeste), the building of new monuments or the organization of great exhibitions. The narratives voiced on these occasions as well as the debates beforehand and the policies following suit will be of interest for the study. Taking the three cities of Dortmund, Dresden and Freiburg i.Br. as examples, continuities and change of the self-images during the period under examination will be shown. The years from 1900 to 1960 with their deep disruptions are especially suited for this purpose. They allow a close examination of the links between local narratives or communal policies on the one hand and historical factors both specific to the respective cities and of more general character on the other. A comparison of the three cases finally should make it possible to judge the respective importance of common structural factors and local specifities.