Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf
Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf

Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf

A part of my history.

I initially chose History as a subsidiary subject to my studies in Musicology and Media and Communication Studies and specialised in the 20th and 21st centuries. Studying in Berlin allowed me to attend the most interesting seminars at the Humboldt University, the Free University, the Technical University and the nearby University of Potsdam.

My studies in media and communication and my work at the Centre for Communication History and Intercultural Journalism with Prof. Dr Bernd Sösemann broadened my historical interest in the media field. I was also able to deal with the museum and educational processing of historical topics during my work in the educational department of the Brandenburg Memorials Foundation. The time at the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum inspired me to write my published master’s thesis on the politics of remembrance in the GDR („Erinnerungspolitik der DDR“).

My doctoral project at the Institute of History at the University of Potsdam with Prof. Dr Bernd Stöver sheds light on the murder of psychiatric patients during National Socialism.

Being here now.

Even though I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about the past, I still stay in the present, thanks to my love for music and above all for animals. I care for stray cats and dogs from animal welfare in a small private sanctuary, I am supporting castration projects internationally, and I contribute to private animal welfare initiatives and aid projects for people who are hardly seen.

Examining the history of mentality, society, and culture is increasingly beneficial to animal welfare. That is why I have started my research project on the use of animals in warfare.

Universität Potsdam - Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf

An academic overview.

University of Potsdam
Doctoral project on National Socialist „medication euthanasia“ in Saxony (Dr. phil.)

Free University of Berlin
Media and Communication (Magistra Artium, M.A.)

Technical University Berlin
Modern History (Magistra Artium, M.A.)

Humboldt University Berlin
Musicology (Magistra Artium, M.A.)
German Studies (Bachelor of Arts, B.A.)

Erinnerungspolitik der DDR - Tillack-Graf
History of Psychiatry - Tillack-Graf
Value of Work in Nazi Germany - Tillack-Graf
Das Denkmal für Friedrich den Großen von Friedrich Gilly - Tillack-Graf
Social History of Medicine - Tillack-Graf
Paws and Wars - Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf
Mass Media and Society - Tillack-Graf

Research

Publications and current projects.

My key interests cover the topics: History of the 20th century, medicine and crime, perpetrator research, media history, history of mentality, commemorating and remembering the past.

The results from some of my projects have already been published nationally and internationally, and others are still in the works. So this section will be updated accordingly.

Paws and Wars

The project „Paws and Wars“ is part of an ongoing research series that examines the use of animals for humans. This focus is on how dogs and cats have been used specifically in war throughout history and how their abilities have been used to eliminate the enemy and survive. The impact of war on those dogs and cats that did not serve in the war is covered, as well as the appreciation and remembrance of the animal heroes.

The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society

Institute of Communication and Media Studies (University of Leipzig)

published: 2019
ISBN 978-1-483-37554-0

The Institute of Communication and Media Research (Institut für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft) is a German research and educational institute and part of the University of Leipzig. As an established institution, it continuously contributes to the scientific community thanks to its wide study profile, which allows a multi-perspective approach to the media and communication studies both in Germany and abroad.

more …

History of Psychiatry

Thomas R. Müller, Wahn und Sinn. Patienten, Ärzte, Personal und Institutionen der Psychiatrie in Sachsen vom Mittelalter bis zum Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. | Madness and Sense patients, doctors, personnel and institutions of psychiatry in Saxony from the Middle Ages until the end of the 20th century. 2014. (book review)

published: Volume 26, Number 104, Issue 4, December 2015
ISSN 0957-154X (print)
ISSN 1740-2360 (online)

more …

Social History of Medicine

Susan Benedict and Linda Shields (eds), Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany: The “Euthanasia Programs”. 2014. (book review)

published: Volume 28, Number 2, May 2015
editor: Society for the Social History of Medicine
ISSN 0951-631X (print)
ISSN 1477-4666 (online)
Oxford: Oxford University Press 2015

more …

The Value of Work in Contemporary Society

Work during the Time of Nazi Germany: Work for Nazi Germany

published: 2014
ISBN 978-1-84888-357-4
Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press / Brill 2014

Even today, almost 70 years after the political end of National Socialism, there are numerous myths being woven around Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. The most stubborn is that he abolished unemployment. Work was indeed decisive in Nazi Germany: it helped Hitler’s political rise and that of his Nazi Party; it supported the war, brought economic gains, upheld the Nazi state and could save and destroy lives. After the campaign issues of ‘work’ and ‘unemployment’ which made Hitler and his party popular among the population and ultimately contributed to the seizure of power, the Nazi regime established the Arbeitsschlacht (labour battle), where numerous jobs were created which eventually led to full employment and a labour shortage. To compensate the shortage of workers during the war, in addition to German citizens like women and the youth, inmates from concentration camps, prisoners of war and civilian foreign workers were deployed. Therefore by the period of National Socialism, some 20 million people from across Europe had to perform forced labour for the Reich, its businesses, its economy and its war. The Nazi state would not have lasted for as long as it did without this deployment of the various forms of forced labour. Prisoners’ capacity to work often decided their fate, as the Nazi regime considered those unable to work to be useless consumers of food and thus without purpose in the system. Although the motto of almost all concentration camps and ghettos was ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (work sets you free), in fact what occurred was ‘extermination through labour’. The prisoners were supposed to make a profit for the German economy and thereby work themselves to death. This was an efficient method of killing in the eyes of those in power. These various meanings of work within National Socialism will be presented chronologically.

more …

Erinnerungspolitik der DDR (german)

Dargestellt an der Berichterstattung der Tageszeitung „Neues Deutschland“ über die Nationalen Mahn- und Gedenkstätten Buchenwald, Ravensbrück und Sachsenhausen

Politics of remembrance in the GDR. Analysed on the basis of reporting by the daily newspaper „Neues Deutschland“ on the National Memorials Buchenwald, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen

published: 2012
ISBN 978-3-631-63678-7 geb. (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-3-653-01918-6 (eBook)
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien

Part of the anti-fascist concept of the German Democratic Republic was the remembrance of the National Socialist regime, and the National Memorials Buchenwald, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen played a central role. But to what extent did the GDR use memory for its politics? How was this „politics of remembrance“ adapted to political and social developments? What influence did the Cold War and the relationship with the Federal Republic have?
The author examines the propagandistic use of these memorials through the lens of the SED central newspaper „Neues Deutschland“ and demonstrates how memory was instrumentalized by and for politics in the GDR.

more …

Das Denkmal für Friedrich den Großen von Friedrich Gilly 1796 (german)

Kupferstichkabinett der Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin

Munich, 2004

Frederick II declined to have a monument erected in his honour during his lifetime; therefore, it was not until after his death in 1786 that a prospective monument could be conceived. The Berlin Academy of Sciences had unsuccessfully attempted to organise a competition for an architectural memorial to Frederick the Great on her own initiative. So in 1796, King Frederick William II himself commissioned the Academy to reconsider the memorial concept and organise a competition. The call was followed by Friedrich Gilly, among others, with his design of a colossal temple monument on the octagonal Leipziger Platz in Berlin.

The German-language essay, published in 2004, was written at the Institute for History and Art History at the Technical University of Berlin. In a condensed form, it introduces the architect Gilly and gives an interpretation of the design, which was not realised after all. It is now kept in the magazine of the Kupferstichkabinetts which is part of the Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin.

… a revised and expanded version will be published soon …

Mass Media and Society - Tillack-Graf

The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society

Institute of Communication and Media Studies (University of Leipzig)

Erscheinungsjahr: 2019
ISBN 978-1-483-37554-0

The Institute of Communication and Media Research (Institut für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft) is a German research and educational institute and part of the University of Leipzig. As an established institution, it continuously contributes to the scientific community thanks to its wide study profile, which allows a multi-perspective approach to the media and communication studies both in Germany and abroad.

zum Verlag …

History of Psychiatry - Tillack-Graf

History of Psychiatry

Thomas R. Müller, Wahn und Sinn. Patienten, Ärzte, Personal und Institutionen der Psychiatrie in Sachsen vom Mittelalter bis zum Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. 2014. (Rezension)

Erscheinungsjahr: Volume 26, Number 104, Issue 4, December 2015
ISSN 0957-154X (print)
ISSN 1740-2360 (online)

zum Verlag …

Value of Work in Nazi Germany - Tillack-Graf

The Value of Work in Contemporary Society

Work during the Time of Nazi Germany: Work for Nazi Germany

Erscheinungsjahr: 2014
ISBN 978-1-84888-357-4
Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press 2014

Even today, almost 70 years after the political end of National Socialism, there are numerous myths being woven around Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. The most stubborn is that he abolished unemployment. Work was indeed decisive in Nazi Germany: it helped Hitler’s political rise and that of his Nazi Party; it supported the war, brought economic gains, upheld the Nazi state and could save and destroy lives. After the campaign issues of ‘work’ and ‘unemployment’ which made Hitler and his party popular among the population and ultimately contributed to the seizure of power, the Nazi regime established the Arbeitsschlacht (labour battle), where numerous jobs were created which eventually led to full employment and a labour shortage. To compensate the shortage of workers during the war, in addition to German citizens like women and the youth, inmates from concentration camps, prisoners of war and civilian foreign workers were deployed. Therefore by the period of National Socialism, some 20 million people from across Europe had to perform forced labour for the Reich, its businesses, its economy and its war. The Nazi state would not have lasted for as long as it did without this deployment of the various forms of forced labour. Prisoners’ capacity to work often decided their fate, as the Nazi regime considered those unable to work to be useless consumers of food and thus without purpose in the system. Although the motto of almost all concentration camps and ghettos was ‘Arbeit macht frei’ (work sets you free), in fact what occurred was ‘extermination through labour’. The prisoners were supposed to make a profit for the German economy and thereby work themselves to death. This was an efficient method of killing in the eyes of those in power. These various meanings of work within National Socialism will be presented chronologically.

zum Verlag …

Social History of Medicine - Tillack-Graf

Social History of Medicine

Susan Benedict and Linda Shields (eds), Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany: The “Euthanasia Programs”. 2014. (Rezension)

Erscheinungsjahr: Volume 28, Number 2, May 2015
Herausgeber: Society for the Social History of Medicine
ISSN 0951-631X (print)
ISSN 1477-4666 (online)
Oxford: Oxford University Press 2015

zum Verlag …

Das Denkmal für Friedrich den Großen von Friedrich Gilly - Tillack-Graf

Das Denkmal für Friedrich den Großen von Friedrich Gilly 1796 (german)

Kupferstichkabinett der Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin

Munich, 2004

Frederick II declined to have a monument erected in his honour during his lifetime; therefore, it was not until after his death in 1786 that a prospective monument could be conceived. The Berlin Academy of Sciences had unsuccessfully attempted to organise a competition for an architectural memorial to Frederick the Great on her own initiative. So in 1796, King Frederick William II himself commissioned the Academy to reconsider the memorial concept and organise a competition. The call was followed by Friedrich Gilly, among others, with his design of a colossal temple monument on the octagonal Leipziger Platz in Berlin.

The German-language essay, published in 2004, was written at the Institute for History and Art History at the Technical University of Berlin. In a condensed form, it introduces the architect Gilly and gives an interpretation of the design, which was not realised after all. It is now kept in the magazine of the Kupferstichkabinetts which is part of the Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin.

… a revised and expanded version will be published soon …

Erinnerungspolitik der DDR - Tillack-Graf

Erinnerungspolitik der DDR (german)

Dargestellt an der Berichterstattung der Tageszeitung „Neues Deutschland“ über die Nationalen Mahn- und Gedenkstätten Buchenwald, Ravensbrück und Sachsenhausen

Politics of remembrance in the GDR. Analysed on the basis of reporting by the daily newspaper „Neues Deutschland“ on the National Memorials Buchenwald, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen

published: 2012
ISBN 978-3-631-63678-7 geb. (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-3-653-01918-6 (eBook)
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien

Part of the anti-fascist concept of the German Democratic Republic was the remembrance of the National Socialist regime, and the National Memorials Buchenwald, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen played a central role. But to what extent did the GDR use memory for its politics? How was this „politics of remembrance“ adapted to political and social developments? What influence did the Cold War and the relationship with the Federal Republic have?
The author examines the propagandistic use of these memorials through the lens of the SED central newspaper „Neues Deutschland“ and demonstrates how memory was instrumentalized by and for politics in the GDR.

more …

Paws and Wars - Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf

Paws and Wars

The project „Paws and Wars“ is part of an ongoing research series that examines the use of animals for humans. This focus is on how dogs and cats have been used specifically in war throughout history and how their abilities have been used to eliminate the enemy and survive. The impact of war on those dogs and cats that did not serve in the war is covered, as well as the appreciation and remembrance of the animal heroes.

Kontakt - Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf

Contact

Questions or suggestions?

Whether it’s about my historical research or my animal welfare activities – if I can, I’m very happy to help, open to new ideas, projects and suggestions. Contact me via email or social media.