Master Thesis: "Stumbling and Remembering - The Art Project 'Stolpersteine' in the German and European Landscape of Commemoration"

Abstract:
The thesis at hand examines the wider societal impact of the Stolpersteine project (in English 'stumbling stones'), a decentralized memory project designed by German artist Gunter Demnig in order to commemorate victims of the Third Reich. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed: The Stolpersteine's place within the contemporary landscape of commemoration is analyzed, aided by an extensive review of newspaper coverage and of existing research on the project. A field trip to the performed laying of the stones adds an empirical dimension. Furthermore, the first international survey about the project serves (1) to initiate an international exchange about the project and (2) to verify main outcomes of the thesis. These outcomes stress the project's contribution for the commemoration of the victims both on an individual and on a collective level, its highly participative character and also its perceived exclusive focus on Jewish victims. The thesis contributes to the fields of cultural studies, communication studies and the study of the (European) cultural memory.

Below you can find a link to download my Master Thesis for free. I have separated the thesis and the appendix into two files so that people who are eager to only read the thesis don't have to download the extensive appendix and so that people who only want to read the survey evaluation overview can access it quickly in the appendix.

View or download the thesis here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yz28ocfjkytunhn/EckartRehberg-39367-MasterThesis-StumblingAndRemembering.pdf

View or download the appendix here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r9s0n90wdhnnqom/EckartRehberg-39367-MasterThesis-StumblingAndRemembering-Appendix.pdf

I am currently applying for jobs in the Berlin/Brandenburg area in the field of cultural memory/memory politics/museums/memorial sites etc. - contact me if you think we should work together or if you have any suggestions: eckart.rehberg@yahoo.de

And please feel free to use the comment section of this blog to share your thoughts about this thesis!
Best regards,
Eckart Rehberg