Double Book Launch at Readings St Kilda

The Alfred Deakin Research Institute is proud to present Remembering the Cold War by Professor David Lowe and Dr Tony Joel and The Dresden Firebombing by Dr Tony Joel.

Internationally recognized historian Professor Joan Beaumont will launch both books on 3 April at 6pm at Readings, St Kilda.

Increasingly we are captured by the memories of the past. But how is the past used to shape national identity, current day international relations and political identity?

Remembering the Cold War: Global Contest and National Stories examines how, more than two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cold War legacies continue to influence national identities and shape international relations. Given the Cold War’s blurred definition – it doesn’t have a widely accepted commencement date or conclusion ‐ what is to be remembered? This book illustrates that there is a huge body of ‘remembrance,’ and that it is important to ask: what should be included and what can be overlooked?

The Dresden Firebombing: Memory and the Politics of Commemorating Destruction focuses on the historical battle to re‐appropriate Dresden, and on how World War II continues to shape British and German identity. The firebombing of Dresden marks the terrible apex of the European bombing war. Both the death toll and the motivation for the attack have become historical battlegrounds. The Dresden bombing was used by East Germany as a propaganda tool, and has been re‐appropriated by the neo‐Nazi far right. While in London a statue of the Commander‐in‐Chief of RAF Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris, has attracted protests.

Time: 6pm‐8pm
Date: Thursday 3 April, 2014
Location: Readings, 112 Acland St, St Kilda, Tel: 9525 3852
RSVP: Monday 31 March to Ms Jo Collins at jo.collins@deakin.edu.au or Tel: 03 5227 1464

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