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Leeder has played a significant role in developing public understanding and appreciation of the culture of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and its contested legacy after the unification of Germany in 1990. She has over many years promoted the understanding of culture from the former East through publications, translations, public events, work with writers and frequent radio broadcasts. This active work to engage a broad range of audiences, underpinned by high-quality research, has increased awareness of East German culture, has played a role in processes of commemoration, and has supported new forms of literary expression by bringing new works by established and emerging authors, filmmakers and artists to the forefront in public debate on these issues in the UK and beyond.
David Robb's research into folk and protest song has an impact on a wider public through its promotion at music clubs and festivals and in its use in political education in schools. The context for the impact is the general political climate in Germany since the Second World War where protest song has been supported at a national level as `democratic' heritage. Questionnaires from a recent workshop revealed how teachers have made use of Robb's recent on-line research project to promote a democratic consciousness amongst pupils. His research has also influenced the song repertoires of folk groups and performers.
In this REF period, Christopher Young researched and published widely on the Olympic Games in twentieth-century Germany. Highlights of the impact of this research include: (i) Young's co- authored monograph was the principal reference for an exhibition on the 1972 Munich Olympics, which ran for 6 weeks in 2012 at Munich's main station; (ii) Young made a significant contribution as consultant to three of the six documentary programmes `Olympic Radio Ballads', which were broadcast on Radio 2 in the run-up to London 2012; (iii) Young's research was the basis of his April 2012 presentation at the Historian's Speaker Series at the Office of State in Washington.
Professor Rainer Schulze's research on the history of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp provided a new analysis of the singular role of Bergen-Belsen in the system of Nazi concentration camps. This research informed a new permanent exhibition at the Gedenkstätte (memorial site) at Bergen-Belsen. The new exhibition has educated hundreds of thousands of visitors since it opened in 2007, and has improved the reputation of the Gedenkstätte, allowing it to secure a donation from the Berlin Bundesregierung of €1million and to incr ease its permanent staff number. In the UK, Schulze's work has had effects on the teaching of Holocaust history in the UK, achieved through his participation in the annual University of Essex Holocaust Awareness week, his Key Stage 3 and 4 and A-Level workshops, and the establishment of the Dora Love Prize for schools in 2012.
The research traces the interrelated debates on art, education and violence from the German Enlightenment to the present day. It analyses how the Enlightenment has shaped discussions of ethics and aesthetics both in the nineteenth century and in post-war German culture. The research has been communicated to a wide range of audiences: students, adult learners, creative organisations and their audiences, resulting in enriched cultural experiences and a different perspective on contemporary issues through the introduction of new ideas, arguments and forms of expression.
Speaking in 2012, David Cameron declared proudly that the Great War is `a fundamental part of our national consciousness'. But what is acknowledged far less is the role of minority groups in the conflict. Jews, national minorities and colonial troops all fought and died at the front. Tim Grady has helped to push this knowledge to the centre of the public's understanding. His talks, magazine articles, podcasts and consultancy work have raised awareness of the diverse range of voices involved in the First World War, highlighting the impact of other combatants, as well as the involvement of the Jewish community.
The Gutzkow project, co-directed by Lauster and Vonhoff of the Department of Modern Languages (German), has transformed public access to the author's work through open-access, on-line publication. The project, which combines specialist scholarship with innovative editing, has considerably enhanced public appreciation of a widened canon of 19th-century German literature (impact 1). User testimonies, the international press, public acknowledgement and public involvement in events in the region reveal a significant renewal of public interest in Gutzkow. The editorial results of the Gutzkow project have been requested by an interdisciplinary linguistic digitization project in Berlin and will be fully integrated in this open access linguistic database (impact 2).
The research has had an impact on public understanding of the contested German past. Pathways include public lectures, radio broadcasts, newspaper coverage, and the production of two documentary films as well as A Level source materials and school textbook chapters. The reach has included diverse audiences in Europe, the USA, Australasia and elsewhere. It has improved the knowledge and understanding of students and teachers in the UK, professionals involved in public history activities in Germany and interested members of the public. In the Rhineland, it has led to changes in how the legacies of former officials are commemorated. The research has been of particular personal significance to people variously grappling with the continuing legacies of Nazism and the Holocaust, and the East German dictatorship.
Dr Richard Noakes led `Connecting Cornwall', a project working with the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum (PTM) from February 2009 - July 2012, looking at the lives and careers of the `ordinary' men who operated the Victorian and Edwardian British submarine cable network.
The project was fundamental in building a working relationship with PTM that now paves the way for future research-based collaborations. The exhibition also raised the profile of PTM. A new section of the website was created for PTM, greatly improving its online presence and user experience. Impacts on the public have included providing access to previously unseen archival material, preserving and displaying artefacts of cultural heritage and in educating people with regards to their local history.
The impact of this on-going project has been to raise cultural awareness of Eastern European history and life behind the Iron Curtain by bringing together communities of former Eastern European citizens in Bristol. It has given those communities the opportunity to share their stories with a group with many common experiences. The project has also given them the opportunity to increase their awareness of other Eastern European countries. Public awareness has been raised through a series of events which have allowed project participants to voice their views and experiences, including a museum exhibition, a series of school workshops, and a set of resources for secondary school teachers.