Main challenge

“What can be the role of the contested heritage of the Atlantik Wall in todays and future society?”

The Atlantik Wall was a 5,000-kilometre-long line coastal defense system built by Nazi Germany. It covered the whole Atlantic coastline of Europe, from Norway till Portugal. The Wall is considered contested heritage as part of trauma-scape: a landscape showing the trauma, pain and hurt of memories from the past. People’s attitude towards the remains evolve over time: should we erase the wall or preserve it as a painful memory? The Atlantik Wall bunkers, which were also used in the Cold War period, can be ‘used’ to solve social, biodiversity and spatial challenges or can be utilized for recreation and tourism. In this LDE Thesis Lab we dive deeper into the role of heritage for todays and future challenges, together with societal organizations such as municipalities and heritage organizations.

Themes

1. Nature & Environment – e.g., how can the remains of the Atlantik Wall be used to solve social and spatial challenges such as climate change, sustainability, and inclusivity?
2. Society, communities & tourism – e.g., How can the contested heritage of Atlantik Wall meet the goals of the Faro Convention (2005)? Can we put people central in creating Living Heritage? Can it be utilized for recreation and tourism? Can bunkers be part of local communities?
3. Heritage management, governance & design – e.g. How can the Atlantik Wall’s cultural heritage play a role in environmental policy and spatial (urban) design?

Within each theme we give example research questions, and also give space for students and their supervisors to come up with their own questions that are relevant to the topic from their disciplinary expertise.