Occupied Germany & Japan after WWII from Global Cultural History Perspectives (Besatzungsalltage/senryōka nichijō)

The postwar occupations of Germany and Japan were significant periods for the history of Europe and East Asia alike. They have both been thoroughly researched on their own right, yet until to date historical scholarship has hardly ever considered putting the history of both occupations into conversation, whether from comparative or entangled history perspectives. This talk, on the contrary, explores opportunities and challenges of writing a "geteilte Geschichte"—meaning both shared and divided history—of occupied Germany and Japan with a particular focus on the experience of the occupation period in peoples' everyday life, race, gender, and sexuality.