Identity on the Line
Identity on the Line

Spin-off

Vest Agder Museum
A spin-off research project of the Norwegian subproject about the aftermath of the Second World War in Norway

What happens to the Untold?

The project’s objective is to study the transmission of the Untold from one generation to the next and its importance for our joint understanding of historical events. Here, the researcher wants to understand the Untold as being related to events that influence a person’s life and family relations; events a person is not able to or willing to talk or ask about. In many cases, trauma might be involved, or negative feelings like shame or guilt.

In the project, the researchers will specifically address events related to WWII in Norway, events that were difficult to handle. Such events can be of very different nature; for example, they can be related to experiences of people in contact with German soldiers or to reactions from the local society in the aftermath of the war.

Cooperation and transfer of knowledge

Unspoken History Conference - March 17th & 18th 2022

What happens to the unspoken?

Long-term consequences of troubling experiences

This international conference aimed at gathering experts from different fields of studies to present a status quo of what we know today about the intergenerational transfer of the Unspoken. Through six lectures spread over two days, each of them highlighting one important aspect of a larger picture:

  • The mechanisms behind intergenerational transfer of trauma and silence from one generation to the next
  • How to use Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) in contact with informants
  • How NETfacts can contribute to healing within societies
  • The war mindset
  • Settler colonial genocide and residential schools in Canada
  • Collective trauma among minorities, exemplified by the Sami minority