Karin Orth

Bio: Karin Orth is an academic researcher from University of Freiburg. The author has contributed to research in topics: Political science & Gynecology. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 10 publications receiving 84 citations.

Neuere Forschungen zur Selbstmobilisierung der Wissenschaften im Nationalsozialismus

Abstract: Bis in die 1990er Jahre hinein verstand und beschrieb die Wissenschaftsgeschichte den Nationalsozialismus als etwas, das uber die Wissenschaft und die unpolitische Professorenschaft ,,hereingebrochen‘‘ sei und dem sich die meisten Gelehrten so gut es eben ging entzogen hatten. Nur wenige Wissenschaftler hatten sich dem Regime angedient oder gar an Verbrechen N.T.M. 20 (2012) 215–224 0036-6978/12/030215-10 DOI 10.1007/s00048-012-0076-7 Published online: 25 August 2012 2012 SPRINGER BASEL AG

Forced Laborers in Nazi Germany: Categories, Numbers and Survivors

Abstract: When Germany and Austria discussed the matter of compensating former forced laborers in the German economy during World War II, it became clear that no definitive estimate of how many were still alive was available. Combining Nazi statistics with postwar demographic data for twenty countries reveals that the number of foreigners deployed in the German economy totaled around 13.5 million, of whom approximately 11 million survived the war. Fifty-five years later, about 2.7 million were still alive. This calculation of forced laborers within Germany may well become more precise as scholars compile more and better data, perhaps eventually to be supplemented with statistics about forced laborers outside Germany's borders as well. Nonetheless, the evidence at hand reveals that Nazi Germany's forced-labor program was the largest and most brutal that Europe had seen since at least the Middle Ages.

What is Basic Research? Insights from Historical Semantics.

Abstract: For some years now, the concept of basic research has been under attack. Yet although the significance of the concept is in doubt, basic research continues to be used as an analytical category in science studies. But what exactly is basic research? What is the difference between basic and applied research? This article seeks to answer these questions by applying historical semantics. I argue that the concept of basic research did not arise out of the tradition of pure science. On the contrary, this new concept emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when scientists were being confronted with rising expectations regarding the societal utility of science. Scientists used the concept in order to try to bridge the gap between the promise of utility and the uncertainty of scientific endeavour. Only after 1945, when United States science policy shaped the notion of basic research, did the concept revert to the older ideals of pure science. This revival of the purity discourse was caused by the specific historical situation in the US at that time: the need to reform federal research policy after the Second World War, the new dimension of ethical dilemmas in science and technology during the atomic era, and the tense political climate during the Cold War.

Writing a Global History of Convict Labour

Abstract: This bibliographic essay seeks to contribute to the understanding of convict labour from a global and long-term perspective. First the conditions conducive to the emergence and transformation of convict labour are addressed by framing this coercive labour form within broader classifications of labour relations and by discussing its connection with the problem of governmentality. Subsequently, an overview of the literature is undertaken in the form of a journey across time, space, and different regimes of punishment. Finally, the limitations of the available literature are discussed, the possibility of a longer-term (pre-1500) and global history of convict labour is considered, and some theoretical and methodological approaches are suggested that could favour this task.

The Colonial Development of Concentration Camps (1868–1902)

Abstract: The forced labour and extermination camps established in Europe during the Second World War gave the meaning to the term ‘concentration camp’ which it has for the general public today. But the practice of concentrating civilians in guarded camps or centres, specifically as part of a counter-guerrilla military strategy during wartime, long predated and outlasted the Second World War. In the light of fresh research, this article looks comparatively at the function of the camps in three different colonial arenas between 1868 and 1902. It emphasises the different purposes between these exercises in civilian concentration and the ‘camp culture’ of the Nazi era in Europe and challenges the linkage between the two asserted by Hannah Arendt half a century ago and by many others since.

Engineering Europe : Big technologies and military systems in the making of 20th century Europe

Abstract: Big technological projects have long been an object of study within the history of technology. This paper looks at large transnational projects in Europe during the 20th century, a class of projects not dealt with so far in any comprehensive way. It is argued that such transnational projects have characteristics distinct from national ones and that they have, in different ways, contributed to the creation of Europe in the 20th century. After a thematic outline, the paper deals with projects in Europe in a chronological order, indicating that the number of transnational projects increased dramatically during the Cold War period. Some perspectives for further research are then discussed, including areas such as military projects and the role of European institutions.