Knowing Racism in Germany: A Genealogy of Knowledge about Racism and Its Transnational Influence

Racism and racist bodies of knowledge were politically established and institutionalised in Germany until 1945. After this date, they did not simply disappear but rather were transformed in the development of a society shaped by migration; a transformation into what would later be termed neo-racism. A historical failure to adequately recognise racism in this period, combined with the way in which difference has been dealt with in everyday life, has contributed both to the invisibility and, indirectly, to the reproduction of racism.

Despite this racist undercurrent throughout history, scholars both within and beyond the academy have continuously analysed racism. They have contributed to a vast knowledge of racism and been in constant transnational exchange, across Europe and beyond, with the aim of combatting racism by providing rigorous research and a theoretical practice. This paper provides a genealogy of research on racism and of theories of racism in Germany. It is based on a 2016 study at Humboldt University’s Berlin Institute for Integration and Migration Research in which we conducted narrative interviews with leading researchers in the field (from the 1960s to the present day). On the basis of our findings, I outline the intellectual, personal, institutional and international influences on the field. I also sketch the desiderata of current research on racism and attempt to formulate an understanding of European racism though the lens of the genealogy provided.