In the Name of Order: Zero Waste and Total War in Nazi Germany
480 South Broad Street
Get a glimpse into the innovative and impactful research taking place at Penn Arts & Sciences at the Penn Science and Lightbulb Cafés. The lecture series is free and open to the public and takes place in Center City at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.
Waste practices are practices of social and political maintenance. Focusing on Nazi Germany, Anne Berg demonstrates that ideas about closed energy cycles and “zero waste” drove the regime’s genocidal policies. Recycling was key. Not only technocrats, scientists, civil servants, party officials, military personnel, and bureaucrats, but also “ordinary” Germans shaped and sustained the regime in ostensibly apolitical ways, simply because they felt compelled to save resources, to salvage scrap, to sort their trash, and to return it as a resource to the war machine.
If you have any questions about the event, please e-mail Amber Grier at events@sas.upenn.edu.
Since 2005, expert faculty from the University of Pennsylvania have shed a light on their research at the Penn Lightbulb Café. Audience members are welcome to purchase food and beverages from the café at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre to enjoy as they learn from the top experts in various fields. Each lecture will provide an opportunity for audience Q&A.