Armed conflicts derive not only from territorial claims, but also from cultural differences. This leads to a paradoxical situation: on the one hand, the obviously negative effects of such cultural differences are evident in a state of war; on the other hand, the concrete impact of cultural diplomacy as political soft power can hardly be proven quantitatively. A clear consequence of this paradox is that the role of cultural diplomacy in foreign policy contexts is systematically underestimated. My research project on cultural diplomacy aims to examine the activities and programmes of German-speaking institutions (with focus on Goethe-Institut Bucharest) as well as their influence upon social and cultural interactions between Eastern and Western Europe. Based on the specific example of German-Romanian cultural exchanges between 1968 and 2007, it explores the ways in which cultural diplomacy has generated networks of cultural exchange with a lasting influence upon the civil society. The main questions to address are: i. what are the immediate effects of cultural diplomacy and what is its lasting impact? Ii. how can the networking of cultural and academic actors impact civil society? Based on archival research (mainly in the archive of the Romanian Secret Police), as well as field research (including an open call addressed to the visitors of Goethe-Institute Bucharest before 1990), the first results of my study will be the basis of a performative installation. Centered around the above-mentioned research dimensions and showcasing elements of the accompanying artistic practice, this presentation will focus on the dynamics between history, cultural diplomacy and identity. It will highlight the key aspects of a complex phenomenon that involves various processes of cultural memory in the making.