War Crimes and Sexual Violence in World War One and Beyond, 15-16 June 2023
Wars of the 20th century are characterized by multiple forms of war crimes and sexual violence, the latter being judicially recognized as a war crime only at the end of the 20th century. During the First World War, soldiers of belligerent armies also perpetrated sexual violence, often against noncombatant civilians. Furthermore, instances of sexual violence were often part of a broader range of wartime atrocities, including looting, internment, forced labor and executions. As such, comprehending the full scope of sexual violence in the context of war requires a multifaceted understanding of the underlying complexities and intricacies of wartime aggression. Against this background, the workshop will explore how we can study war crimes and sexual violence in World War One and beyond.
Venue: Dissertantenraum of the Department of Eastern European History, Spitalgasse 2/ Campus of the University of Vienna, Hof 3 and online via Zoom
Organization: Research Group “Sexuelle Gewalt im Ersten Weltkrieg“ (Daniel Gunz, Christa Hämmerle and Lisa Kirchner)
Registration: We kindly ask for registration in advance. Please write to Daniel Gunz or Lisa Kirchner
Thursday, 15 June 2023
13:30–14:00 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION | Wolfgang Müller (Department of Eastern European History, University of Vienna), Dietlind Hüchtker (Head of the Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies), Christa Hämmerle (Research Group “Sexuelle Gewalt im Ersten Weltkrieg“), Daniel Gunz and Lisa Kirchner (University of Vienna)
14:00–15:00 KEYNOTE I: RAPE IN WARTIME, 1911 - 1923: MYTHS AND REALITIES | John Horne (Trinity College Dublin)
15:00–15:30 COFFEE BREAK
15:30–17:00 PANEL I: LAW OF WAR AND WAR CRIMES
“Humanity”, Legitimization of War and Colonial Law. Sexual Violence in Late 19th Century International Law | Anastasia Hammerschmied (University of Vienna)
Suspects, Refugees, or Traitors? Violence against Civilians in Galicia during the First World War | Kamil Ruszała (Jagiellonian University, Krakow)
Comment| Franziska Lamp (University of Vienna)
17:00–17:15 COFFEE BREAK
17:15–18:15 SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND THE CURRENT WAR AGAINST UKRAINE
Kateryna Busol (National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy) in a conversation with Regina Mühlhäuser (Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture/ Hamburg Institute for Social Research)
Moderation | Christa Hämmerle (University of Vienna)
Friday, 16 June 2023
9:30–10:30 KEYNOTE II: CRUISING EUROPE IN WWII. WEHRMACHT VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE FEMALE OTHER | Elissa Mailänder (Sciences Po, Paris)
10:30–12:00 PANEL II: WAR CRIMES AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN EGO DOCUMENTS
Gender Relations and (the Gap of) Sexual Violence in German-Written War Accounts | Lisa Kirchner (University of Vienna)
The Great Unwritable? Sexuality and Sexual Violence in Soldiers’ Czech-Written Personal Accounts of World War I | Jiří Hutečka (University of Hradec Králové)
Comment | Viktoria Wind (University of Graz)
12:00–13:00 LUNCH BREAK
13:00–14:30 PANEL III: EXPERIENCING AND REMEMBERING SEXUAL VIOLENCE
Consensual or Forced? The Fluidity of Sexual Violence against Men within the Habsburg’s Military (1897-1918) | Daniel Gunz (University of Vienna)
Overcoming the Silence in Post Genocide Literature | Paula Harbig (University of Freiburg)
Comment | Aleksandar Ranković (University of Vienna)
14:30–15:00 FINAL DISCUSSION
Funded by the Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies, the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies, the Department of History, and the Research Group “Sexuelle Gewalt im Ersten Weltkrieg”, University of Vienna