dr hab. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska For years: 2022–2027 Project number: 101041946
ERC Starting Grant
Ghosts are often presented as the spirits of the dead haunting the living. But what if we understood them as material remains, bringing to light overlooked past and enabling us to grasp the experience of the otherness? We propose such an approach in research on displacement, on territories previously inhabited by one culture but after a forced migration resettled by another one.
The displacement comprises expulsion and resettlement. While the former is well-researched, much of the latter remains understudied: especially the settlers’ experiences with things previous inhabitants had left behind. Things act as “ghosts” of previous culture and force settlers to interact with the “spectral” presence of the expellees. Hence, we will operationalize the category of “post-displacement” as a form of afterlife, based on archival records and fieldwork, in 3 regions in Slavic Central Europe where the traces of previous German cultures remained visible, regardless of the efforts to remove them. With hauntology as the proposed research framework and introduction of the category of recycling, we will establish a novel approach in research on the post-displacement regions. Hauntology, a spectral theory of being, shows how the present is pervaded by the past and enables us to engage with unresolved questions, becoming a tool to investigate unexplained phenomena. Recycling is a mechanism of reintroducing the things that were left by expellees into the life of the settlers. Our approach will bring fresh insights into everyday life in the post-displacement regions by providing a more nuanced and coherent understanding of forced migration processes and their continuous reinterpretations in different political and ideological regimes. In understanding what post-displacement things are and the attitude of people towards them, the project presents a showcase study of what we can learn about the emergence of new cultures from the experiences of Central Europe.
Human remains discovered some time ago in the Czech town of Postoloprty have once again raised the question of postwar violence against the civilian German-speaking population. They also remind us how difficult it can be to talk about a past that does not fit neatly into the usual division between victims and perpetrators.
In a new article for Denník N, our researcher Michal uses the example of Postoloprty to look at how Czech society deals with this uncomfortable past. He compares the Czech experience with the way violence against German civilians during the Slovak National Uprising is remembered in Slovakia.
Why do Sklené, Banská Štiavnica, and Magurka remain at the margins of the story of the Slovak National Uprising? And what happens when we do not want to talk about the uncomfortable chapters of our own past?
📅 Wednesday, 21 October 2026, 6:00 pm 📍 Pracownia Duży Pokój, ul. Warecka 4/6, Warsaw (entrance from Kubusia Puchatka Street)
Why in 2026 did a municipality in Western Pomerania use a mug featuring a Nazi to promote itself? How should we understand the identities of Wrocław, Szczecin and Zielona Góra: as formerly German or Polish? Can a granary serve as a museum, and who decides how such places and their histories are presented?
Many of the terms we use to describe our history are still preceded by the phrase “so-called”, as in the case of the “Recovered Territories”. This linguistic distance says much about our relationship with the past. Despite more than eighty years of research into the displacement of German populations and the resettlement of territories incorporated into Poland after the Second World War, the material and cultural legacies of the “formerly German” have only relatively recently entered mainstream Polish popular culture.
This discussion examines how understandings of the “Recovered Territories” are changing and being debated today. How do we use the term “formerly German” today, and how does it shape not only our understanding of the past but also the places we live in and our everyday experiences? Which stories about these territories do we tell, which remain untold, and which receive the most attention? We will also consider how a post-war project of social engineering has evolved in ways that its creators could not have anticipated.
The discussion will feature dr Małgorzata Bukiel (Institute for Western Affairs in Poznań), dr Małgorzata Łukianow (Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw) and our own Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska. It will be moderated by dr Helena Patzer (Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Warsaw).
The event is co-organised by Stowarzyszenie „Pracownia Etnograficzna”, Pracownia Duży Pokój, the European Union (ERC, Spectral Recycling, 101041946), Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw, Institute for Western Affairs in Poznań, Centre for Research on Social Memory, and Polish Memory Studies Group.
On 21–22 September 2026, Angelika Zanki, our project manager and facilitator, participated in the workshop “PolSCA Masterclass – Advanced Workshop: Research Project Management Using the PM² Methodology”, organised by the PolSCA – Polish Science Contact Agency in Brussels, in cooperation with the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot. The workshop, led by Dr Agnieszka Grzegorczyk, a trainer and expert in project management in the R&D sector and public administration, had a strongly practical focus and provided an opportunity to directly relate the topics discussed to real-life challenges encountered in the implementation of research projects.
Working on projects funded under ERC grants requires continuous updating of knowledge, becoming familiar with new management methodologies, and improving approaches to work organisation and team collaboration. During the two-day workshop, Angelika had the opportunty to deepen her knowledge of the application of the PM² methodology to research project management, with particular attention to the specific characteristics of projects implemented within European funding programmes. PM² Methodology, developed by the European Commission, provides a methodology for effectively managing projects. It offers practical guidelines, management activities, and best practices that can be tailored to the needs of organisations and teams. A significant part of the training focused on project planning and monitoring, tracking milestones and outcome and impact indicators, as well as requirements related to periodic and final reporting.
Another important component of the training was the development of competences in risk, issue and project change management. Participants worked on methods for identifying and classifying risks, maintaining a risk register, and developing appropriate risk response plans. Additionaly, the workshop covered project communication and diplomacy, particularly in situations requiring coordination, agreement and negotiation within teams and consortia.
Participants were introduced to the potential use of prompt engineering and AI tools to support communication, negotiations and day-to-day administrative work. Particular attention was given to the Human-in-the-Loop and AI-Copiloting models, which can support the streamlining of processes while retaining human responsibility for decisions. The topic of artificial intelligence generated an extensive discussion among the participants, highlighting the need to establish clear principles and guidelines for the use of various AI tools in the day-to-day administration of European research projects.
An important part of the training was also the analysis of the research project life cycle, from initiation through to project closure, including work with real-life scenarios and the exchange of experiences and good practices. The workshop addressed as well the respective responsibilities of the individuals involved in project implementation, helping to further clarify roles and areas of cooperation within the project.
Participation in the training enabled Angelika to expand and update her competences in ERC project management, as well as to become familiar with new tools and working methods that can be applied to the ongoing implementation of the project. At the same time, Angelika actively shared her own experience and proposed solutions to practical challenges arising in the context of working on the aforementioned project, thereby contributing to the exchange of knowledge and good practices among the workshop participants.
Sopot, city where the workshop took place, photo: Angelika Zanki
A new chapter titled “From the Battlefield to the Stadium. The Transformation of Male and Female Bodies in German Commemorative Practices regarding the First World War in the 1920s and 1930s.” by Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska has been published in a collective volume “Monuments and Cemeteries of the First World War in Europe”, edited by Kamil Ruszała, and issued by the Brill.
In her chapter, Karolina examines how, in interwar Germany, First World War memorials shaped collective memory by idealizing the male body and linking commemoration with sport.
A link to the full text you can find here and here.
