The violent and ruptured history of European society remains present both in collective and personal memory. It is communicated in a variety of ways, such as stereotypes and projections, both in daily life and in academic debate. These constitute a significant part of social communication, which is often unconscious. At the end of the twentieth century Europe is still haunted by the aftermath of the exclusion, robbery, expulsion and murder of Jews, Roma and Sinti, and other persecuted groups.

This three-day international conference focuses on the aftermath of Nazism and the Holocaust in contemporary Europe. Through interdisciplinary approaches, different perspectives of survivors and descendants of victims, helpers, bystanders, collaborators and perpetrators will be explored.

Austria, a country that until recently has often represented itself as "the first victim", will provide a background for comparison with other countries and their ways of dealing with the effects of National Socialism. Finally, the conference aims to broaden the range of attitudes towards past and present conflicts.

The lectures, workshops and open forums of the conference will examine ways of working with the aftereffects of the Holocaust, both in relation to society and in connection with family biography. This will include inter- and intra-generational communication, economic gains and losses, legal issues, commemoration and personal and creative responses.