ABSTRACT
Since the end of the Cold War, historical commissions have played an important role in many countries all over the world in making the public aware of the potentially damaging role of conflicting historical memories. In view of the increased importance of historical commissions in Germany, which have been set up for these purposes since the 1990s, the chapter adopts a threefold approach. Firstly, it discusses the general historical and political circumstances which favored the setting up of these committees. The second part shifts from the political emphasis to a stronger historiographical one. This concerns the central question as to why historical research sometimes needs the assistance of historical commissions. A third part focuses on the question of how historical commissions can contribute to the better historical understanding of ethnically, politically or socially divisive events of the past.
