Ep. 47: Challenges for Education: Evaluating Education on the Israel/Palestine Conflict (Dr. Per Leo – Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin)

Guest: Dr. Per Leo, Historian & Author, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Hosts: Efe & Philip Bio: Per Leo studied history, philosophy, and Slavic Studies in Freiburg and Berlin, earning his PhD in 2009 at Humboldt University. His novel Flut und Boden (2015), which reflects on his grandfather Friedrich Leo, an SS-Sturmbannführer, and the family’s history during the Nazi era, was shortlisted for the 2014 Leipzig Book Fair Prize and received several awards. Since 2021, Leo has critically examined German culture of remembrance in the context of the Middle East conflict and migration, notably in his essay Tränen ohne Trauer (2021). He writes for leading publications including Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, Die Welt, and Neue Rundschau, and lives in Berlin with his family as a freelance author. He is a 2024/2025 fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) where he examines how schools deal with the Israel/Palestine conflict. In this episode: Efe and Philip speak with Dr. Per Leo about how the Israel-Palestine conflict is addressed in Berlin schools. Drawing on his research and conversations with teachers, parents, and students, Dr. Leo examines how the conflict is taught, how schools both reflect and diverge from broader societal discourse, and the challenges educators face in navigating such a sensitive topic. He reflects on the distinction between memory culture and critical historical consciousness, the importance of the Beutelsbach Consensus in teaching such a contested topic, and the necessity of embracing multiple perspectives. This episode was recorded July 11, 2025. Links: Dr. Per Leo: https://www.wiko-berlin.de/fellows/akademisches-jahr/2024/leo-per Disclaimer: Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast team. Technical legal terms are explained in Episode 36 with Prof. Claus Kreß; contested histories are addressed by Prof. Gudrun Krämer in Episode 21.