The conference Occupied Spaces – Practices and Experiences of European and Non-European Occupation between World War II and the Cold War is part of the project “Audio Visuals and Languages Analysis Network for Cultural Heritage in Europe – Avalanche of Democracy”, financed by the CERV-2023-CITIZENS-REM (European Remembrance – 2023) grant. It intends to adopt a new, multidisciplinary approach to the concepts of ‘space’ and ‘occupation’ with regards to WWII and its ‘occupied spaces’.

‘Occupation’ is hereby understood as the imposition of direct control and power by means of violence through national entities and/or their social actors upon given territories and/or groups of individuals. The focus of the conference will go beyond the 1939-1945 period and the European context. In this sense, the analyses should be broadened by looking at the various contexts of ‘occupation’ through the category of ‘space’ (geographical: nation, region, city, quarter, residential complex; non-geographical: language, culture, education, gender, religion, race). 

Occupied Spaces is organized by the 9 settembre study center and the Occupied Italy magazine in collaboration with the University of Salerno. The conference is part of the Avalanche project co-financed by the European Union