Khuê Phạm and Andreas Margara

Half a century after the end of the Vietnam War, journalist and writer Khuê Phạm with the scientist Andreas Margara about how the memory of the war continues to shape societies, families and identities to this day. The war in Vietnam and its culture of remembrance are characterized by a wide variety of perspectives. In Vietnam, the end of the war is usually seen as a victory and liberation, while in the USA and for the Vietnamese diaspora living abroad (Việt kiều) it is often associated with trauma and defeat. But even within these groups, there are individual perspectives that show that history is not based on facts alone, but also depends on who is telling it and from which angle it is viewed.

Khuê Phạm is a ZEIT editor and author. In 2012, she published “We New Germans” with Alice Bota and Özlem Topçu, which is about immigrant children and their place in Germany. Her debut novel “Wherever you are” is inspired by her Vietnamese family. It was adapted as dance theater (“KIM”) and published in 2024 as “Brothers and Ghosts” in the UK, Australia and the USA. Khuê Phạm is one of the founding members of PEN Berlin.

Dr. Andreas Margara is a historian and Southeast Asia specialist with numerous publications on the history of Vietnam. His research sheds light on the complex political and social aftermath of the war.

In cooperation with the German-Vietnamese Society and the Heidelberg Symposium