Austria’s ambassador to the UK will join a panel of WW1 experts at Kent on 30 May to consider why and how the centenary of the Great War should be commemorated.
The event will focus on the way the First World War is seen now by all the nations in the conflict – including those that were defeated, such as Austria.
Austria’s ambassador, Dr Emil Brix, will join the panel of academics and museum directors to take part in a discussion on the issues raised by the centenary, using the examples of the way it is being commemorated in the UK, Belgium and Austria. The event is free and open to all and forms part of a day of WW1-related activities at our Canterbury campus.
Event organiser Dr Deborah Holmes, Head of the Department of German, said: ‘Although there are countless events going on all over the world to mark the centenary of WW1, the question of why and how we should commemorate the Great War remains a contentious one.
‘The discussion will focus on this, with a particular emphasis on how the anniversary of the conflict is seen in all the countries that took part, not just those on the winning side.’
The event will conclude with an illustrated lecture from Professor Mark Connelly, of School of History, a leading authority on WW1. He will be joined by Dr Heide Kunzelmann, also from the Department of German, who has made available photographs of troop mobilisations and prisoners of war, taken by her great-grandfather, who was a medical officer in the Habsburg (Austrian) army.
Professor Connelly, who will later officially launch the new World War One Engagement Centre at the University, will compare these newly-discovered sources to photographs taken by British officers in 1914.
For full details of the Why and How should we commemorate the centenary of the First World War event see: www.kent.ac.uk/secl/german/events/