German, Polish, and French historians who have been working on compiling history textbooks that draw on the perspectives of both sides of the former warring nations stressed Thursday the importance of dialogue between the countries involved.
The three specialists attended a symposium titled "Textbooks, history and war memory in Europe, Asia and America," held Tuesday and Wednesday in Tokyo. They also discussed the issue during a news conference the day after the symposium, which was sponsored by the Asia Foundation and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Wolfgang Hopken, professor of University of Leipzig and director of Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Studies, explained that in 1972 a joint research committee on history textbooks was set up, bringing together West German and Polish historians.