Joachim C. Häberlen
@jchaeberlen.bsky.social
Historian of beautiful actions. PhD from UChicago. Past at U Warwick, now teaching and writing in Berlin.
Personal Homepage: https://joachimhaeberlen.com/
My book on Protesting in Post-War Europe: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/321011/beauty-is-in-the-
Personal Homepage: https://joachimhaeberlen.com/
My book on Protesting in Post-War Europe: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/321011/beauty-is-in-the-
Spending the summer in Brittany, a place to simply forget about the madness of the world. And it fills me with nothing but bewilderment that it seems impossible for humanity to simply enjoy the immense beauty that this world has to offer.
July 31, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Spending the summer in Brittany, a place to simply forget about the madness of the world. And it fills me with nothing but bewilderment that it seems impossible for humanity to simply enjoy the immense beauty that this world has to offer.
Next heat wave in Berlin looks even worse. Maybe people will eventually take climate change seriously. Oh, and no rain whatsoever.
July 6, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Next heat wave in Berlin looks even worse. Maybe people will eventually take climate change seriously. Oh, and no rain whatsoever.
With all the bleak news about Trump, the AfD, etc., I sometimes think about history as a message in a bottle: that something else, better is possible. This photo is, to me, such a message: a message from a world of joy, of laughter, of intimacy that is not sexualized; a world beyond patriarchy.
May 29, 2025 at 2:37 PM
With all the bleak news about Trump, the AfD, etc., I sometimes think about history as a message in a bottle: that something else, better is possible. This photo is, to me, such a message: a message from a world of joy, of laughter, of intimacy that is not sexualized; a world beyond patriarchy.
Pleasant things in life: the smell of warm summer rain.
May 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Pleasant things in life: the smell of warm summer rain.
The other day, I saw a huge ad for a vibrator at a Berlin railway station. Nothing secret, nothing hidden about sex toys.
Imagine a world in which we could spend the resources, the creativity, that now go (and have to go, sadly) into rearmament on developing better sex toys.
Imagine a world in which we could spend the resources, the creativity, that now go (and have to go, sadly) into rearmament on developing better sex toys.
March 6, 2025 at 5:47 AM
The other day, I saw a huge ad for a vibrator at a Berlin railway station. Nothing secret, nothing hidden about sex toys.
Imagine a world in which we could spend the resources, the creativity, that now go (and have to go, sadly) into rearmament on developing better sex toys.
Imagine a world in which we could spend the resources, the creativity, that now go (and have to go, sadly) into rearmament on developing better sex toys.
In Berlin, The Left came out first. This will be interesting when a new regional parliament is elected next year.
(For the record, I have sympathies for their clear stance against the far right, much more committed than the Greens, but their foreign policy ideas are... scaring me.)
(For the record, I have sympathies for their clear stance against the far right, much more committed than the Greens, but their foreign policy ideas are... scaring me.)
February 24, 2025 at 8:31 AM
In Berlin, The Left came out first. This will be interesting when a new regional parliament is elected next year.
(For the record, I have sympathies for their clear stance against the far right, much more committed than the Greens, but their foreign policy ideas are... scaring me.)
(For the record, I have sympathies for their clear stance against the far right, much more committed than the Greens, but their foreign policy ideas are... scaring me.)
To inspire to try to build coalitions, to challenge power in subversive forms, to organize, and to build alternatives to what is here and now, without ignoring "dark sides" and unintended outcomes. The point is in trying, failing, and trying again. (6/6)
February 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
To inspire to try to build coalitions, to challenge power in subversive forms, to organize, and to build alternatives to what is here and now, without ignoring "dark sides" and unintended outcomes. The point is in trying, failing, and trying again. (6/6)
Beautiful snowy morning in Berlin. Just ignore the news.
February 14, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Beautiful snowy morning in Berlin. Just ignore the news.
The lesson history can provide for the present seems to be all about the rise of authoritarian / fascist regimes. But history also provides another lesson: people taking to the streets, reimagining society, challenging power can actuall win, as they did in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
February 13, 2025 at 5:28 AM
The lesson history can provide for the present seems to be all about the rise of authoritarian / fascist regimes. But history also provides another lesson: people taking to the streets, reimagining society, challenging power can actuall win, as they did in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
Writing Diary (working on a new project, provisionally entitled: Building Futures: Europe 1917-1939): ca. 500 words each over the last three days.
That's a pace I'm happy with, though it still takes too long to get words on paper. But I'm writing again! (About more hopeful times...)
That's a pace I'm happy with, though it still takes too long to get words on paper. But I'm writing again! (About more hopeful times...)
February 12, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Writing Diary (working on a new project, provisionally entitled: Building Futures: Europe 1917-1939): ca. 500 words each over the last three days.
That's a pace I'm happy with, though it still takes too long to get words on paper. But I'm writing again! (About more hopeful times...)
That's a pace I'm happy with, though it still takes too long to get words on paper. But I'm writing again! (About more hopeful times...)
An important piece that has been going around recently (which is, of course, a bit ironic given the article's argument):
www.404media.co/you-cant-pos...
www.404media.co/you-cant-pos...
February 7, 2025 at 6:14 AM
An important piece that has been going around recently (which is, of course, a bit ironic given the article's argument):
www.404media.co/you-cant-pos...
www.404media.co/you-cant-pos...
Gab es eigentlich nach den Morden von Hanau irgendwelche Gesetzesverschärfungen, oder zumindest Vorschläge, um ähnliches künftig zu verhindern? Präventiver Hausarrest, Fußfesseln mit Trackern, oder wenigstens schärfere Kontrollen beim Waffenrecht?
Just wondering, you know. And: Say their Names!
Just wondering, you know. And: Say their Names!
January 26, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Gab es eigentlich nach den Morden von Hanau irgendwelche Gesetzesverschärfungen, oder zumindest Vorschläge, um ähnliches künftig zu verhindern? Präventiver Hausarrest, Fußfesseln mit Trackern, oder wenigstens schärfere Kontrollen beim Waffenrecht?
Just wondering, you know. And: Say their Names!
Just wondering, you know. And: Say their Names!
Bei Kaufland... who the hell would eat that?!
January 3, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Bei Kaufland... who the hell would eat that?!
A simple lesson from history, from a historian of protesting: Taking to the streets can make a difference. Organizing matters. Action matters. Mobilization matters. Envisioning a better future matters.
It's possible to fail, to be defeated; and then it's time to get up and try again.
It's possible to fail, to be defeated; and then it's time to get up and try again.
November 8, 2024 at 3:47 PM
A simple lesson from history, from a historian of protesting: Taking to the streets can make a difference. Organizing matters. Action matters. Mobilization matters. Envisioning a better future matters.
It's possible to fail, to be defeated; and then it's time to get up and try again.
It's possible to fail, to be defeated; and then it's time to get up and try again.
To me, this is what history has to offer to the present: the inspiration to imagine something different, the encouragement to struggle for a concrete utopia. This is why it's worth telling the stories of "paths not taken," whether in the Spanish Civil War, in May 68, or in the Syrian Revolution. 4/4
November 2, 2024 at 2:10 PM
To me, this is what history has to offer to the present: the inspiration to imagine something different, the encouragement to struggle for a concrete utopia. This is why it's worth telling the stories of "paths not taken," whether in the Spanish Civil War, in May 68, or in the Syrian Revolution. 4/4
To find inspiration for imagining a different future, for envisioning the kinds of solidarities that cross boundaries, I'd suggest turning to those who actually built such solidarities, such as the Sans Papiers movement in France that re-envisioned citizenship beyond national belonging. 3/X
November 2, 2024 at 2:07 PM
To find inspiration for imagining a different future, for envisioning the kinds of solidarities that cross boundaries, I'd suggest turning to those who actually built such solidarities, such as the Sans Papiers movement in France that re-envisioned citizenship beyond national belonging. 3/X
I've started reading Gary Wilder's Concrete Utopianism (2022), an attempt to imagine alternatives to the current state of the world based on what already exists; it's an attempt to go beyond the fatalistic pessism of much of current leftist thinking without buying into naive neoliberal optimism. 1/X
November 2, 2024 at 1:55 PM
I've started reading Gary Wilder's Concrete Utopianism (2022), an attempt to imagine alternatives to the current state of the world based on what already exists; it's an attempt to go beyond the fatalistic pessism of much of current leftist thinking without buying into naive neoliberal optimism. 1/X
History Post:
There's a lot of talk about historical analogies between today and the (late) Weimar Republic. The French Popular Front, and especially its defeat, might actually be a more interesting comparison. Elected in 1936 after a period of great and enthusiastic mobilization, ... 1/X
There's a lot of talk about historical analogies between today and the (late) Weimar Republic. The French Popular Front, and especially its defeat, might actually be a more interesting comparison. Elected in 1936 after a period of great and enthusiastic mobilization, ... 1/X
October 25, 2024 at 6:55 PM
History Post:
There's a lot of talk about historical analogies between today and the (late) Weimar Republic. The French Popular Front, and especially its defeat, might actually be a more interesting comparison. Elected in 1936 after a period of great and enthusiastic mobilization, ... 1/X
There's a lot of talk about historical analogies between today and the (late) Weimar Republic. The French Popular Front, and especially its defeat, might actually be a more interesting comparison. Elected in 1936 after a period of great and enthusiastic mobilization, ... 1/X
The book by Major Waldemar Fydrych tells the story of Orange Alternative in 1980s Wroclaw, where Fydrych and his comrades staged colorful happenings mocking the authorities. Written as a biography, it's a book to make you laugh, lively and full of humor.
I cover Orange Alternative also in my book:
I cover Orange Alternative also in my book:
October 25, 2024 at 2:57 AM
The book by Major Waldemar Fydrych tells the story of Orange Alternative in 1980s Wroclaw, where Fydrych and his comrades staged colorful happenings mocking the authorities. Written as a biography, it's a book to make you laugh, lively and full of humor.
I cover Orange Alternative also in my book:
I cover Orange Alternative also in my book:
With all the new followers, I feel pressured to actually post something. So I'll start a short series with "best books" on the history of protesting, some by famous scholars, others by obsucre activists.
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
October 25, 2024 at 2:47 AM
With all the new followers, I feel pressured to actually post something. So I'll start a short series with "best books" on the history of protesting, some by famous scholars, others by obsucre activists.
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
With all the new followers, I feel pressured to actually post something. So I'll start a short series with "best books" on the history of protesting, some by famous scholars, others by obsucre activists.
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
October 25, 2024 at 2:47 AM
With all the new followers, I feel pressured to actually post something. So I'll start a short series with "best books" on the history of protesting, some by famous scholars, others by obsucre activists.
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
I start with an absolute gem: Lives of the Orange Men.
www.akpress.org/lives-of-the...
PS: If I post, I do so mostly to promote my latest book, so here we go, not least because it's now available in paperback (and thus affordable):
www.amazon.de/-/en/Joachim...
www.amazon.de/-/en/Joachim...
October 24, 2024 at 1:04 PM
PS: If I post, I do so mostly to promote my latest book, so here we go, not least because it's now available in paperback (and thus affordable):
www.amazon.de/-/en/Joachim...
www.amazon.de/-/en/Joachim...
Official release day of the paper back copy of Beauty Is in the Street -- £12.99, even cheaper on Amazon.
penguin.co.uk/books/321011...
A short thread on why I think histories of protesting matter today, and what I try to do in the book:
penguin.co.uk/books/321011...
A short thread on why I think histories of protesting matter today, and what I try to do in the book:
October 3, 2024 at 2:09 PM
Official release day of the paper back copy of Beauty Is in the Street -- £12.99, even cheaper on Amazon.
penguin.co.uk/books/321011...
A short thread on why I think histories of protesting matter today, and what I try to do in the book:
penguin.co.uk/books/321011...
A short thread on why I think histories of protesting matter today, and what I try to do in the book:
Photo und Überschrift beschreiben das Elend der Grünen: sie verharren in einer Jammerpose.
Ok, ist verständlich nach dem Wahlausgang, aber es ist nicht neu (und begann eigentlich schon während des Bundestagswahlkampfs 2021).
/1
Ok, ist verständlich nach dem Wahlausgang, aber es ist nicht neu (und begann eigentlich schon während des Bundestagswahlkampfs 2021).
/1
September 3, 2024 at 3:55 AM
Photo und Überschrift beschreiben das Elend der Grünen: sie verharren in einer Jammerpose.
Ok, ist verständlich nach dem Wahlausgang, aber es ist nicht neu (und begann eigentlich schon während des Bundestagswahlkampfs 2021).
/1
Ok, ist verständlich nach dem Wahlausgang, aber es ist nicht neu (und begann eigentlich schon während des Bundestagswahlkampfs 2021).
/1
Angesichts der Wahlergebnisse sollte sich nicht zuletzt die (lehrende!) Geschichtswissenschaft fragen, was sie macht. Vielleicht täte sie gut daran nicht nur mahnend zu erinnern, auf dass sich Geschichte nicht wiederhole, sondern zu zeigen wie Geschichte Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft geben kann.
September 2, 2024 at 1:36 PM
Angesichts der Wahlergebnisse sollte sich nicht zuletzt die (lehrende!) Geschichtswissenschaft fragen, was sie macht. Vielleicht täte sie gut daran nicht nur mahnend zu erinnern, auf dass sich Geschichte nicht wiederhole, sondern zu zeigen wie Geschichte Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft geben kann.