Prof. Dr. Michael Klemm and Florian Weber M. A.; both project team KuLaDig Rheinland-Pfalz / University of Koblenz, Institute for Cultural Studies

Memory Culture and Citizen Science: Presentation of Topics in the State Project KuLaDig-RLP

Rhineland-Palatinate is full of history. Since 2019, we have been working on the state project KuLaDig RLP to digitally document this cultural and historical diversity of the state and make it accessible to the public. The support of volunteer citizen scientists is essential, as they possess knowledge about the places, people, and stories and contribute to our subprojects. Using two examples – the crash site of an American B17 bomber in Römerberg and the memory of the US Army's crossing of the Rhine under General Patton in Nierstein – we would like to document this valuable work and show how we prepare such events in a multimedia format in the project. Finally, we will demonstrate further models of this digital historical communication using examples from Kamp-Bornhofen and Kaub, as we have been focusing on supporting municipalities in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley since 2025 in the new subproject "KuLaDig-RLP meets BUGA29."

The state project “Digital Recording and Presentation of Cultural Landscapes in Rheinland-Pfalz", short “KuLaDig-RLP” (https://kuladigrlp.net), has been conducted as a research, funding, and model project at the Institute for Cultural Studies of the University of Koblenz since 2019 and is supported by the Ministry of the Interior and for Sports of the State of Rheinland-Palatinate. Michael Klemm is a professor of media studies at the University of Koblenz. He mainly focuses on multimodal political communication in online media and the development of knowledge media in teaching, research, and transfer. He also leads the state project KuLaDig-RLP and is a member of the board of the Institute for Historical Regional Studies (IGL). Florian Weber M.A. is a trained media and information services specialist with a focus on information and documentation and has studied art history in Bonn with an emphasis on Dutch painting. He was employed as a research intern in the KuLaDig editorial team at the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR). Since 2019, he has been the research associate in the state project KuLaDig-RLP.

Michael Koelges, Ltd. city archivist i. R. and Judith Höhn-Engers, deputy department head; both City Archive Koblenz

1945 – 1948. End of the War and New Beginnings in Koblenz

The lecture illuminates the post-war period in Koblenz kaleidoscopically, up to the currency reform. The focus is not only on the last military actions on the Rhine and Moselle and the factual end of World War II but also on the difficult handling of everyday concerns, the hesitant beginnings of 'denazification', and the reawakening of political and cultural life in Koblenz.

Michael Koelges M.A., until 2025 the head of the City Archive Koblenz, and Judith Höhn-Engers, deputy head of the City Archive Koblenz, have been exploring the scientific development of city history themes in their city on the Rhine and Moselle in the context of their work as archivists and historians for years. They regularly present the results of their research in lectures, exhibitions, publications, or podcasts.

The lecture series is moderated by Ulrich Linnemann, Bad Schwalbach, and Klaus D. Schoch, Wesel.
The event series is under the patronage of the Lord Mayor of Lahnstein, Mr. Lennart Siefert.

The lecture series takes place at the Stadttheater Lahnstein, Sporkenburger Hof.
Admission with get-together starting at 6:45 PM; lecture begins at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are available for € 7.00 (no discounts) in advance or at the box office. Please note the limited number of seats.