Thinking about war & peace: War enthusiasm

• Date: 19 May
• label.tijd 19:30 - 21:00
• Location: Club Erasmus in de KB nationale bibliotheek

In the run-up to the NATO Summit on June 24-25 in The Hague, the KB is organizing three sessions on the broader theme of war and peace. The lightning-fast developments surrounding NATO and European defense demand depth. In these sessions we will place these developments in a historical framework.

Guest speakers and KB collection specialists will explore with the audience some recurring themes in a long history of thinking about peace and war. What is peace? How do you prevent war? And when do we feel safe?

All sessions can be followed separately. There will be room to ask questions during the sessions and at the connecting drinks.

Session 2: War enthusiasm

History has shown that many groups found armed struggle necessary to initiate change. Even leading up to World War I, there was great enthusiasm in certain circles to take up arms. Historian Ewoud Kieft explains how those ideas could take root and shows how the written word is a factor in wartime that should not be underestimated.

Ewoud Kieft is a historian and author of books including War Enthusiasm: Europe 1900-1918 and The Forbidden Book. Mein Kampf.

Using the KB collection, collection specialist Channa Hoogervorst delves into the history of conscription and resistance to it.

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