Memory Wars

Memory Wars brings you a special episode from Louisville Public Media. Many American teachers and students say it’s time to learn about our country’s legacy of racism. But some conservatives are calling these lessons indoctrination. They’ve co-opted a new label for those discussions: critical race theory. Now, Republican politicians in Kentucky and many other states are trying to reign in classroom conversations on race. At least nine states have already banned teachers from bringing up certain topics around race. Another five have state-level action around this issue. Even more have legislation in the works, including Kentucky. But the U.S. isn’t the only country with an unsettling history to deal with. In Germany, students are required to learn about one of their nation’s darkest chapters — the Holocaust. In WFPL’s “A Critical Moment,” Arts and Culture Reporter Stephanie Wolf explores how the Holocaust is covered in German schools, and Education and Learning Reporter Jess Clark looks at how race is covered in Kentucky classrooms. The result is an unflinching look at how two countries teach about their difficult histories, and why.

Join Fulbright Young Journalist Award winner, Mallory Noe-Payne and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Michael Paul Williams for a special live recording of this RadioIQ and PRX history podcast at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

How does a society create meaningful places of encounter? Spaces where you just can't look away from the past? On the final episode of Memory Wars, we go back to Germany one last time to explore the conflict and contestation over space. All with the story of a single cobblestone.

Watching how Haley and Charlotte have explored and confronted their own histories made me think maybe it’s time to face up to my own ancestry. Back home in Virginia, the search yields some shocking truths. Once we accept culpability for a sinful past, what does accountability look like? Even generations after?

When Charlotte was a teenager she asked her mother a question: was my grandfather a Nazi? It began a years-long quest to learn more about what her ancestor had done, at a time when an entire country was learning to change its perspective. How do do we rewrite the story of our history?

Haley’s ancestors were Holocaust survivors. But she’s chosen to return to Germany anyway. We follow her journey to reclaim the things stolen from her family — an identity and a homeland. Why would someone return to a place of unspeakable trauma and what does it take for them to feel welcomed?

We start with three generations of German women, and go back in time from there. Through defeat, occupation, and rebuilding. How did two reconstructions, in two different countries, turn out so differently?

If you’re just starting on Memory Wars, try starting here. We’ll tell you how this is going to work and what to expect as you listen along. A production of RADIO IQ, distributed by PRX. You can show your appreciation for innovative projects like this by donating to this Virginia-based public radio station. Donating through this link helps support the podcast.