In May 2026, Nothing Remained Unchanged but the Clouds was exhibited at the Wissenschaftsschaufenster in Braunschweig, Germany, accompanied by workshops with local students. These workshops became an important opportunity to explore how young people respond to the field postcards, and how historical material can resonate in unexpected ways.
In this essay, Lara-Marie Hägerling reflects on the students’ engagement with the postcards, considering how their responses were shaped by the current political climate and a growing sense of uncertainty about the future. Their conversations revealed how ordinary details of soldiers’ lives, preserved in these small historical documents, could open up questions about identity, war, freedom and democracy.
Drawing on these encounters, Hägerling considers the changing role of historical learning in a world where war no longer feels like a distant past. The essay offers a thoughtful reflection on the capacity of archival material to connect different generations and experiences, and on what can emerge when young people are given the space to make their own connections with history.
The text below is an abridged English translation of Hägerling’s essay, originally published in Im Gewebe der Geschichte(n) (Verlag Reiffer, 2026).
