DREMATRIX

A research project of the Chair of Computer Graphics at the HTWD, together with the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Research, is developing an innovative method for the digital documentation of historiographical argumentation using the case study of the sites of National Socialist institutions in Dresden.

The Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Research e.V. at the TU Dresden (HAIT) and the Chair of Computer Graphics at the Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTWD) are researching a new approach to documenting historical research. A digital infrastructure for the documentation of historical data (IDOHIST) is being developed using the mapping of sites of National Socialist rule in Dresden as a case study. With its help, it will be possible in future to trace exactly which source and which historiographical considerations underlie the pre-location of each site marked on the map. What is innovative about this is that uncertainties and considerations that are discarded as incorrect are also documented. For the first time, research results can be digitally recorded via the triad of source – argumentation – result and visualized on a map with various relevant parameters (such as dating, degree of uncertainty).

“The case study of the offices of the up to 90 local groups of the National Socialist Party in Dresden shows the particular difficulties when it comes to drawing on a city map when and where exactly the NSDAP was active in Blasewitz, for example: there are no documents on this in the archives, because in the last months of the war some files were deliberately destroyed and others were lost due to war damage. However, other sources, such as the daily newspapers of the time, have been preserved. These can be used to reconstruct such facts. Thanks to this new approach, future working methods in the historical sciences, in particular the derivation and considerations for each point on the map, will be revealed and comprehensible. This is an important prerequisite for countering historical revisionist efforts, such as the widespread myth of the 'innocent city' in Dresden,” explains project manager Dr. Anne Klammt. The case study is of particular social relevance, as historical research into the Nazi regime is repeatedly attacked by right-wing extremist and anti-democratic groups and the results are denied.

The 4D Browser developed in the HistStadt4D project is currently on display at the COSMO Science Forum in the Kulturpalast Dresden. The exhibition "Shaping futures together: Visionary Realities" shows prototypes and applications from various Dresden research institutions on the topic of "Shaping Futures". It explores the question of how science and research are addressing the challenges of the future and what new and creative solutions they are finding – be it for climate change, the city of the future or issues relating to mobility. The 4D Browser with its historical city views has been specially optimized for the touch screen and is part of a series of similar applications that use the 3D city model as the basis for visualization and interaction.

The exhibition runs from April 16 to July 18, 2024 and is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 6 pm.

As part of the DFG-funded IDOVIR project, a one-day workshop was held in Darmstadt, attended by around 30 participants from all over Germany. The aim was to present the documentation tool and to find out about the needs of the specialist disciplines of archaeology, building research, art history and monument preservation. Participants were able to try out IDOVIR for themselves in a hands-on session and test its usability. The lively interest, insightful discussions and extensive feedback give us confidence for further development.

On June 6th 2022 the exhibition "Der Schlüssel zum Leben. 500 Jahre mechanische Figurenautomaten" has been opened. Next to many different pieces of art and inventions there is an original Theatrum Mundi from the 19th century displayed.

In collaboration with the Puppentheatersammlung of the SKD we developed a multimedia application: In front of the 5 x 2m wide stage there is a foil clamped, on which (when being activated) a performance is projected to. This performance is inspired by historical theatre programs and digitalised in 3D. Left and right of the stage coulisses decorate the stage setting and figures on little carriages move slowly from one side to the other across rails.

The project also includes a media station, on which visitors can produce their own performance. Through touching they can drag and drop coulisses, figures and even music pieces to rails.

This application was developed in a one-year research project, so that performances can now be put together close to reality.

Sustainable documentation of 3D reconstructions, including the decision-making processes that ultimately led to the result, is still an exception. In order to meet the demand for documentation of research results in a practical sense, two prototype web applications, ScieDoc and DokuVis, have been developed in recent years at the TU Darmstadt, Department of Digital Design, and at the HTW Dresden, Faculty of Computer Science/Mathematics.

In the DFG-funded IDOVIR project, these two tools are now being merged by combining and further developing the advantages of both predecessor systems. The aim of IDOVIR is to document the decisions as to why a reconstruction was created in the way it was, which sources it was based on, which other variants were considered, but also which conceivable variants were rejected and why, and to make them accessible via the Internet. At the same time, IDOVIR is intended to support communication between those involved in the genesis of a reconstruction and to help structure the creation of the reconstruction in a meaningful way. The platform is operated in cooperation with the Darmstadt University and State Library to ensure its long-term availability.