Impact case study database

The first impact lies in the use of Colonialism and Decolonisation in National Historical Cultures and Memory Politics in Europe in the training of teachers in Belgium, Scotland and Germany.

The topics are included in several educational packages from other organisations, such as StudioGlobo, an NGO for development cooperation specialising in developmental education [C1]. They have also been used in the University of Leuven’s Arts Faculty’s summer and fall school for history teachers in the Africa Museum, Tervuren, ‘Historical Thinking About the Colonial Past’ [C2].

At the University of Siegen in Germany, the sections on Overseas Colonialism (I) and Decolonization and Independence Movements (III), the latter of which includes Dr. Shepherd’s chapter ‘Reasons for Appeasement,’ are used in the University’s Advanced Training Course for qualified teachers: these annual training courses involve several hundred teachers, exponentially increasing the impact of the CoDeC research through the subsequent delivery of teaching of this interpretation of history in secondary schools [C3]. November 2016 feedback for the project confirmed the use of the modules in schools across the German federal state of North Rhineland-Westphalia [C3]. In Austria, the Contemporary History course at the University of Vienna regularly uses several modules from the book. The sections on Overseas Colonialism (I) and Decolonization and Independence Movements (III) are used in the ‘Introduction to Contemporary History: Contemporary History as the history of the 20th and 21st century which is usually attended by several hundred students [C3].

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven hosts the CoDeC project site, and offers access to the materials, including Shepherd’s modules, as part of its Faculty Outreach Programme [C4]. The project is situated in the context of using historical analysis to understand contemporary political developments, and incorporating the research into teaching modules for secondary schools. The website notes:

‘CoDeC discusses to what extent national remembrance cultures related to colonialism and decolonisation can be implemented in a collective European framework, in the context of the idea of the colonial past as a connecting and dividing fact in European history. It studies the way in which the theme is addressed in history education in the different partner states, and the impact and importance of colonial past on historical cultures and memory politics today. It studies the renewed interest in the colonial past and processes of decolonisation in different European countries in a comparative perspective.’

The programme is part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme, which has not merely a European but a world-wide reach. The CoDeC materials are available as teaching resources for individuals as well as schools and educational institutions, on open access and without charge. Thus the impact of the research is multi-national, and embedded in second as well as third-level teaching. The high take-up of Shepherd’s modules is further supported by changes to the History secondary curriculum in Belgium. Colonisation/decolonisation has been explicitly included in the new history standards for schools, and the research speaks directly to the Belgian’s aims of contextualising contemporary decolonising initiatives [C5].

The underpinning research in the CoDeC project derives from that undertaken for the Hitler’s Soldier’s monograph. The book is unusual in terms of its tremendous reach amongst a non-academic readership, the impact of which is evidenced in book sales figures showing a large-scale popular impact. The Times Higher Education indicated in 2017 that average sales for Arts and Humanities academic books are 60 copies across a book’s lifetime [C6]: Hitler’s Soldier’s: The German Army in the Third Reich has sold 15,569 copies in hardback, paperback, eBook, and audiobook combined [C7]. The number of sales in a variety of formats demonstrates impact beyond the academy (although the book has also been widely and positively reviewed in scholarly fora), and the extensive reviews on Amazon confirms the high level of engagement with the research amongst a non-specialist audience [C8]. The monograph’s focus on levels of support for the Holocaust amongst the German military constitutes a challenge to the broad narrative that those backing Hitler’s genocidal campaign were largely confined to the Waffen SS and Gestapo, leaving the Wehrmacht a generally honourable professional army. Hitler’s Soldiers provides a comparison with the current support for far-right regimes in contemporary Europe, making their rise more explicable.

The Walsh Report, published in 2014, led directly to the establishment of one of the largest compensation schemes for injury in Ireland [C1, C2]. The research methodology and report recommendations have also influenced the operation of the subsequent Mother and Child investigation (2015-2020) into the scandal of Irish mother and baby homes. The publication of the report generated extensive press coverage, which raised awareness of the procedure amongst the general population [C3]. This was more than mere news: as a result of the attention given to the research, the numbers of women who applied to the subsequent Redress Scheme was three times higher than the number of estimated survivors.

The establishment of the ‘Surgical Symphysiotomy Ex Gratia Payment Scheme’ was the main recommendation of the Walsh Report [C4]. The report recommended that an independent Board was set up to determine suitable compensation for the women, many of them advanced in age, to avoid them having to go through expensive and lengthy court procedures. Judge Yvonne Murphy, who oversaw the investigation into child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, was appointed to shape the parameters of the redress scheme and Judge Maureen Harding Clarke to oversee administration [C5].

The Scheme established a tiered system of payment to those who had undergone the procedure. All women were automatically entitled to a payment of €50,000 once medical evidence of symphysiotomy was submitted. Those who had suffered a disability after symphysiotomy received €100,000, and those with significant and demonstrable effects received €150,000. The applicants to the scheme had attended Prof. Walsh’s public consultation meetings, or had furnished accounts to her through a dedicated, confidential email address. This testimony was shared, with the individual’s permission, with Judges Murphy and Harding Clark, and the Redress Scheme was specifically established to allow the women to access compensation without undertaking a lengthy, expensive, and highly adversarial court case: this was the main recommendation of the Walsh Report [C6, C7, C8, C9]. In total, €29.8 million was paid directly to applicants, just over €2 million paid to solicitors acting for applicants, and €1.2 million spent on administrative costs. The substantive impact was upon the women who received awards on the three-level scale as follows:

216 women received €50,000 under category 1A (underwent symphysiotomy with few or no negative outcomes), 168 received €100,000 under category 1B (significant disability), and 15 received the maximum award of €150,000 (significant disability as a result of symphysiotomy ‘on the way out’, that is, a symphysiotomy conducted after a caesarean section, for which there was no clinical justification, as noted in the Walsh Report). The funds were paid directly to the claimant to a named bank account, and additional sums, with an upper limit of approximately €4,000 for legal expenses incurred in processing claims, and as compensation for those who had already initiated court proceedings before applying to the Redress Scheme. Thus, the effected women received their compensation directly, offering the maximum impact on their lives, with the minimum loss to legal representatives, or to family members. Following the awards, Prof. Walsh received letters from the applicants offering thanks for her work, and (like Judge Harding Clark) touching statements, poetry, and photographs of purchases made with the award funds. Women noted the impact that the awards had made on their lives. [C10]

For the women the compensation was both financially and psychologically significant. The first was the literal financial compensation for injuries suffered as a result of symphysiotomy. The second, and equally important, was the sense of successful closure offered by the Redress Scheme. Many women had actively campaigned for over 15 years, and now, many well advanced in years, received a clear acknowledgement by the Irish government that their treatment had fallen below a reasonable and acceptable standard. Thus, the Report supported a vital psychological impact, that improved the lives of almost 400 Irish women: ‘Now they know it’s true, it means the world. Thank you.’ [C10]

The third impact has been the acceptance of an alternative process for dealing with cases of historic wrongs. The symphysiotomy case encouraged government to replace an adversarial court system for claimants, with an engaged process of consultation and discussion. This impact can be seen through the operation of the present ‘Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters. The integration of historical research as a core element of the Commission’s activities follows the symphysiotomy model.