Publication Project

Historic reader Ruhrgebiet

No other region in Germany and Europe has such a high economic, social and cultural diversity as the Ruhr. With the development of tradition and modernity hopes and prospects, but also the problems and crises since the end of the 19th Century, the subject of extensive scientific research were raised. A “Source Book", which focuses on the stakeholders and interested parties involved in the change and the history of the Ruhr in detail, has not existed hitherto.

The aim of the project funded by the Mercator Foundation is to create a comprehensive, meaningful and representative documentation based on sources , about the growth and transformation of the Ruhr area of the early end of the 18th Century until the present. The spectrum ranges from the rise and decline of heavy industry, on the development of cities and the role of the Ruhr area as a cultural centre.

The two-volume publication will be targeted at a broad public readership: it should serve as the basis for student seminars, advanced courses for upper secondary school or community college courses.

The project was accompanied by several public events. Important impetus was provided by the social historian Thomas Welskopp from Bielefeld with a presentation about how the history of the Ruhr Area should be written at a Sunday matinee on the 27th of January 2008. ? On the 1st of October 2009 an expert workshop was held on which historians and archivists of the region had a critical look at the raw versions of the 18-chapter source.

The historical reader of the Ruhr Area, which arises as a joint effort of the staff and students of the Institute for Social Movements and the Library Foundation of the Ruhr region, was published in the early summer of 2010, just in time for the Culture Year.

For further information please contact:
Dr. Thomas Urban