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Author Archives: Achim Klüppelberg
Putting (In-)visible Harm of Environmental Disasters into the Spotlight
On 16 April the Subaltern Memories Conference will take place in Florence, Italy. Whether we look at natural disasters in Italy or beyond, the Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986, or the environmental calamities of warfare presented on the basis of the Spanish Civial War and the current War between Russia and Ukraine, this conference aims at putting subaltern memories, experiences, harm, and problems into the focus. Typical stories and legacies built around overcoming and resilience will be challenged.
15 Years After 3/11. Fukushima’s Long Aftermath
You all know that on 11 March 2011, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan suffered a nuclear accident. 15 years later, the decommissioning of the destroyed plant has barely started.
2025 had been a good year – on to 2026!
Happy New Year Everyone! I hope wherever you are that you had a wonderful New Year’s Eve and a great start into the next year ahead. Personally, 2025 was a really good year and I am very grateful for all the opportunities I got, the people that came into my life, and the new perspectivesContinue reading “2025 had been a good year – on to 2026!”
Doom your optimism!
It is Summer 2025 and I am working at my standing desk in a sunny southside apartment in southern Germany. It is one of the hottest days this year. There are many hottest days these days all around Europe. In fact, there are so many hottest days all over the place that many people startContinue reading “Doom your optimism!”
NTM Article Prize 2025 Ceremony in Dresden
On 25 September, I was invited for this year’s GWMT annual meeting to Dresden, Germany. Within the halls of the German Hygiene Museum in Saxonia’s capitals I received the NTM Article Prize for Young Authors. My article “Creating Chernobyl. Technocratic Culture and Everyday Life in Nuclear Ukraine, 1970-1982” convinced the board. Naturally, I am veryContinue reading “NTM Article Prize 2025 Ceremony in Dresden”
The Hidden History of Soviet Nuclear Plans at Lake Võrtsjärv in Estonia
1967 or possibly 1972, a convoy of black Volgas navigated the winding south-Estonian roads toward Lake Võrtsjärv.1 Whether in summer, collecting dust and mosquitoes, or in autumn or spring, accumulating heavy dirt on the marshy terrain, the leather-fitted cars carried three esteemed men from the Soviet Estonian Academy of Sciences – geologist Anto Raukas, biologist Harald Haberman and energy engineer Ilmar Öpik. Accompanying them were four to six ‘Moscow people’ with plans to establish a nuclear power plant (hereafter NPP) at the picturesque site. Perhaps, as they reached the elevated banks of Vehendi, where reddish pines reached for the blue sky, the men in ominous KGB attire exchanged nods, finding the location suitable for their cutting-edge technology. Maybe, hearing the rustling reeds, they concurred with the Estonian scientists that a new 4000 MWe power plant could not be built on this shallow lake without raising temperatures to harmful levels.
ESEH 2025 Is Coming Up Soon!
From 18 until 22 August this year many environmental historians, historians of technology, artists and discussion-enthusiasts are going to meet up in Uppsala, Sweden. The European Society for Environmental History invites us to participate in this lovely city about an hour north of Stockholm. The biannual ESEH conferences are always a highlight in any historian’sContinue reading “ESEH 2025 Is Coming Up Soon!”
The Technocratic Culture Behind Chernobyl’s Disaster
Recently my new article about nuclear Ukraine was published. In this article, I am using a technocratic culture perspective to analyse what was going on at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant before that fateful night in April 1986, when reactor block four exploded.
New Publication: Exploring Chernobyl’s Connection to Dnieper Hydropower
Today my article “Joining the Dnieper Cascade. An Envirotechnical Water-History of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, 1927-1986” was published online in the journal Water History. I am really happy that this was possible. You should check it out! Unsurprisingly, I am indebted to so many people who supported me during the four years this little projectContinue reading “New Publication: Exploring Chernobyl’s Connection to Dnieper Hydropower”
Achim Klüppelberg 