The conference will focus on societal and political challenges to postwar societies after World War II. The aim is to discuss how and if former collaborators, refugees, resistance fighters and other groups were reintegrated into societies after the war, and to what extent new ideas and practices of welfare, democratisation and resocialisation in postwar Europe influenced these processes.
From Warfare to Welfare? Resocialisation and Democratisation after World War II
How were former collaborators, displaced refugees, resistance fighters or war veterans reintegrated into societies after 1944/45? Did efforts to reintegrate them pave the way for welfare and democracy?
This international history conference on 8-9 October 2025 seeks to explore the processes of resocialisation and democratisation in postwar Europe.
The conference takes inspiration from ongoing research in Denmark (supported by VELUX FONDEN) at the University of Southern Denmark and three museums, which discusses to what extent authorities after the war tried to integrate German refugees into democratic frameworks and how the resocialisation of convicted collaborators as well as the reintegration of resistance fighters into postwar society was handled.
However, we aim to expand this scope to include broader geographical and historical perspectives.
By bringing together researchers from different disciplines and regions, this history conference seeks to contribute to broader understandings of how societies recover, rebuild, and lay the groundwork for democracy and inclusion in the wake of conflict.
We invite scholars to present their research on related topics in postwar European cases or in transnational comparisons.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Strategies for managing and reintegrating collaborators or former combatants.
- Narratives on punishment and resocialisation among convicted collaborators.
- Approaches to refugee resettlement.
- Democratisation of refugees and prisoners of war.
- Ideas of citizenship and welfare after the war.
- Welfare ambitions and ideals among the resistance movements.
- Policies addressing radicalisation and extremism in post-war societies.
- The role of state authorities in fostering reconciliation and citizenship.
- The role of civil society in fostering reconciliation and citizenship.
- Challenges faced by resistance fighters in adapting to peacetime societies.
- Recognition and commemoration: contested narratives and their social and political impact.
- The role of war victims in shaping post-war democratic and social policies.
Submission Details:
Please send proposals for contributions with a 300-word abstract and a brief bio to PHD Henrik Lundtofte, Archives of Danish Occupation History at Museum Vest hl@musvest.dk
Submission deadline is 1 May 2025. Accepted speakers will be notified by 15 June. We welcome submissions from established academics and early career researchers alike. Presentations will be 30 minutes, followed by discussion.
The conference will take place on 8-9 October 2025 at University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. Attendance and accommodation are free.
We prefer physical participation but are open to online talks as well. Contact: hl@musvest.dk
PhD Henrik Lundtofte hl@musvest.dk