What is nuclear cultural heritage?
© fstopimages/Malte Müller
Cultural heritage is more than just old stones and buildings
Our cultural heritage refers to places, objects and knowledge from the past that shape the identity and history of communities and humanity as a whole. It is a broad assemblage, ranging from historic cities, monuments and landscapes to traditions such as regional dances or crafts. Material objects only gain meaning when they become the subject of discussion, i.e. when they are used and interpreted by people. Conversely, intangible practices such as outstanding craftsmanship are materialised in objects, symbols or documents.
Cultural heritage consists of tangible and intangible components, is shaped by different perceptions and is constantly being reproduced and developed. A social network of things, actions and meanings thus influences what a society considers worth preserving and how it defines its cultural heritage.
The nuclear past as a particular kind of cultural heritage
Nuclear cultural heritage is based on this concept. In Germany, it refers to civil society's use of nuclear energy. This includes practices and artefacts from the nuclear past and present that are considered relevant and important for the future. The practices encompass identifying, collecting, storing and communicating about nuclear technology artefacts and the associated social debates.
Technical objects are part of nuclear cultural heritage. These include decommissioned reactors, control rooms and a final repository. Practices and discourses that deal with the topic of nuclear energy or specific nuclear objects also belong to nuclear cultural heritage. These can include, for example, research work, cultural or artistic practices such as museum exhibitions, or protest movements and their activities, some of which also generate artefacts (e.g. memorials).
In contrast to cultural heritage, nuclear cultural heritage has a special temporal dimension. It encompasses risks that, in some cases, extend far into the future, such as those relating to radioactive waste. Radioactivity is invisible yet poses long-term risks to humans and the environment. This has given rise to social discourses and controversies relating to specific sites, architecture and natural landscapes. These discourses influence the practices of employees in nuclear facilities, environmental activists, politicians, and other individuals who shape nuclear cultural heritage. These groups determine which objects are identified, collected and preserved. Actors like museums, research institutions, archives, media as well as civil society groups decide what is preserved and how it is discussed. This process institutionalises heritage.
Emotions also play a role in nuclear cultural heritage: the connection to certain places – such as former nuclear power plant sites or places of protest – is shaped by personal memories and by media discourses. Clearly, stories and emotions relating to certain places are shaped by events and discourses in other places. For example, the accidents at the Chernobyl (Ukraine) and Fukushima (Japan) nuclear power plants significantly impacted the perception of nuclear energy and its handling in Germany. They have shaped the collective memory of many people worldwide and influence not only how nuclear energy is discussed, but also how it is used and regulated politically.
Nuclear cultural heritage thus combines coming to terms with the past with responsibility for the future – and raises the question of how knowledge, warnings and experiences can be passed on over thousands of years.
Four core components of nuclear cultural heritage
- Temporal dimension: In the present, we deal with knowledge, practices and artefacts from the past that are relevant for the future. The past, present and future are therefore understood as closely linked.
- Material objects and immaterial practices: Physical objects such as technical facilities and immaterial practices such as protests are inextricably linked. Immaterial practices can give rise to material artefacts such as exhibitions, while material objects in turn generate new discourses.
- Spatiality: Nuclear cultural heritage needs spatial references for its development. All material objects and immaterial practices are locally anchored (e.g. through the infrastructure of nuclear industry) or arise from site-specific knowledge (e.g. through protest actions). At the same time, however, they can transcend a specific site’s location, crossing local, national and international borders.
- Institutionalisation: In order to be preserved over time, nuclear cultural heritage must be institutionalised. Institutionalisation can take place both through top-down activities and mechanisms such as museums and archives, and through bottom-up initiatives from civil society. These structures, rules and routines must establish themselves over long periods of time, thus producing varying degrees of institutionalisation.
The definition of nuclear cultural heritage
Nuclear cultural heritage is multi-layered and interacts with several objects and practices. This is central to its development, design and continued existence. The more interconnections there are and the more pronounced they are, the more likely institutionalisation processes are to follow and the higher the degree of institutionalisation.
To determine what constitutes Germany's nuclear cultural heritage, an extensive literature review was conducted and an annotated bibliography was published. The identified literature consists primarily of scientific publications but also includes informational materials.
Following the literature review, relevant places in Germany were mapped. To this end, spatial reference points were identified where such heritage is already emerging or being implemented. The mapping thus provides a spatial overview of different types of objects and artefacts and also shows clusters of them. Based on the definition of nuclear cultural heritage, it is assumed that clusters of several places indicate an institutionalisation of processes and practices.
A total of 77 places have been identified where nuclear cultural heritage either already exists or is currently being created in Germany. Many of these are visitor centres and museums. In addition, there are exhibition venues, memorials, research facilities and archives. The places of nuclear cultural heritage are spread across Germany. With the exception of the city states of Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, as well as Saarland, there is at least one place in every federal state that can be considered part of nuclear cultural heritage. Most of the identified places are located in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony.
Places of potential nuclear cultural heritage in Germany
In further blog posts, I will discuss the German case studies that we have examined in more detail: the Munich/Garching “Atomic egg,” the Wismut and Gorleben regions. This will be followed by a post on the significance of nuclear cultural heritage in the search for a final disposal site for highly-radioactive waste and the safety of final disposal in general.
Dr Melanie Mbah is Research Coordinator for Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research at Oeko-Institut and is involved in the DAEF, the German working group for repository research,) and the GTPF, the German Society for Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research.
Further information
Annotated bibliography of literature on nuclear cultural heritage in Germany
