Coord.: Nina Régis (Casa de Velázquez - EHEHI), Nicolas Stassar (Freie Universität Berlin)
Org.: Casa de Velázquez - École des hautes études hispaniques et ibériques (Madrid), Arbeitskreis Militärgeschichte e.V (AKM), Freie Universität Berlin
Venue:
- Casa de Velázquez
C/ Paul Guinard, 3
Madrid - Ciudad Universitaria
Online or in-person participation subject to availability
Registration required here before September 15.
Presentation
With ongoing geopolitical challenges and tensions, war has been rekindled as a part of public discourse. Alongside problems of sending aid, rearmament, and civil preparation for potential humanitarian eventualities, there is a pressing need to also bring the observation of international law in the conduct of war as well as, of course, the treatment of disarmed and captured enemy soldiers into focus. Much of the normative frameworks that are still active in the present and that inform public debates on the treatment of captured persons have been formulated following the Second World War.
These developments are ultimately linked in many ways, because they stem from the same mixture of humanitarian concern and military self-interest. Consequently, it is paramount to bring into focus the multifaceted nature of international humanitarian law by finding the links between historical and present-day conflicts. The goal of this conference is to highlight the blind spots in research on humanitarian work, particularly the role of neutral states like Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, United States and Switzerland during World War I, the development of the notion of “protective powers” and the issue of retaliation in POW-camps.
The workshop brings together young scholars from research institutions in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, who are studying various countries and contemporary research questions within the fields of humanitarianism, the role of neutral states, and the treatment of POWs.
The workshop will prepare the conference “Committed Neutralities. Humanitarianism in Spain and in a global context during the First World War” in Spring 2025.
