In Defense of Valhalla
Join us as we revisit the lecture originally presented by former President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson at the University of Warsaw, March 4. 2020 entitled "Defending Asgard, Independence and Human Rights. The Use of History in Current Affairs".
The former President himself will be present as we discuss how hate groups are claiming old Norse symbolism for their causes and using it as beacons of hate. More panelists are to be announced.
Mod: Gunnar Sauermann (Metal Hammer, DE)
Gunnar Sauermann is well known in the dark music scene as a freelancer for Metal Hammer Germany, for which he has been writing since 2001. His focus has been on the Norwegian and other Nordic black metal scenes as well as on bands from Britain and Romania. He joined Season of Mist in 2008 and worked eight years in France and two more from the Netherlands as head of promotion for the renowned French label. In 2018, Gunnar was offered a position as senior press officer of the Wacken Open Air and moved to Hamburg. Two years later, he returned to promotion, as head of the department of the acclaimed German label Prophecy Productions and others under the umbrella of SPKR Media. In another life, the dedicated European from Germany has studied iron age and early medieval archaeology, and comparative linguistics with a focus on Celtic and Germanic languages at the universities of Marburg and Dublin. When Gunnar is not at work or reporting from studios and festivals across Europe, he can often be found visiting friends or going fishing in Bergen, Norway.
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson (IS)
Former president Jóhannesson was born on June 26, 1968, in Reykjavik. He earned a B.A. in History and Political Science from Warwick University in 1991, an M.A. in History from the University of Iceland in 1997, an M.St. from Oxford University in 1999, and a Ph.D. from Queen Mary University of London in 2003. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson served as the sixth president of Iceland from 2016 to 2024.
Before becoming president in 2016, Jóhannesson was a Professor of History at the University of Iceland. He has also taught at Reykjavik University, Bifröst University, and the University of London. His research focuses on Iceland's foreign relations, constitutional matters, and contemporary history. He has published numerous scholarly articles and books, including one on the Icelandic presidency published in 2016. In 2017, he received an honorary degree from Queen Mary University.
Photo by: Spessi Hallbjörnsson
