News

This was not our first encounter with Slovak cinema in our seminars. Some time last year, we discussed Mŕtvi nespievajú, a film by Andrej Lettrich depicting the realities of Slovak troops on the Eastern Front vis-à-vis their families at home. This time, we decided to delve into a solid classic: the first Czechoslovak Oscar-winning film, Obchod na korze [The Shop on Main Street] (1965).

The story, based on a book by Jiří Grossmann and directed by the iconic duo Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, depicts the entangled lives of the inhabitants of a small Slovak town. The film also has a Polish accent, as the Jewish shop owner is played by Ida Kamińska, a distinguished Polish-Jewish actress.

We discussed the specific wartime trajectory of Slovakia, a topic we had also touched upon while watching Mŕtvi nespievajú. In particular, we focused on attitudes toward the local fascist regime, the apparent idyll of occupation, and the ways in which various symbols in the film can be interpreted as excuses for collaboration. We also devoted attention to the film’s production context and to the striking absence of Germans on screen—while it is Slovaks who carry out the forced displacement of the town’s Jewish population.

Altogether, this helped us broaden our analytical horizon and reflect on questions such as how post-conflict societies deal with their pasts. After all, the war ended, yet the Slovak inhabitants of the town depicted in the film continued to live on without their Jewish neighbors.

In episode #101 of the Czechostacja podcast, Karolina and Jakub Medek explore interwar politics, Masaryk’s views on the many minorities living in Czechoslovakia, and his belief that it was possible to create not only a new state but eventually a new nation — the Czechoslovaks. The conversation was sparked by the recent opening of an envelope deposed in the National Archive in Prague: allegedly, it contained last words of Masaryk, and its opening became a spectacle unveiling the national myths and conventions. They also delve into the role and influence of Edvard Beneš, as well as the intellectuals with whom Masaryk eagerly debated and who simultaneously formed his intellectual support network.

A significant part of their conversation focuses on the Masaryk family — on what kind of father and husband Masaryk was, and on the crucial role played by his wife, Charlotte, an American with a strong personality.

And naturally — as always in Czechostacja — they wander into plenty of other fascinating topics along the way.

At the end of November, our researcher Michal Korhel participated in the 2025 Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), held in Washington, D.C. Together with Jakub Gałęziowski from the University of Warsaw, Michal co-organized a panel titled “Forced to Move: Remembering Children’s Displacement and Migration in WWII and Its Aftermath in East-Central Europe.” Bringing this panel to life felt especially meaningful, as it allowed the organizers to gather scholars who work with memories of some of the most vulnerable figures in wartime and postwar history – children whose lives were reshaped not only by violence, but also by the uncertain quiet that followed the end of the Second World War.

The panel explored a range of child experiences: Holocaust survivors in Hungary, young refugees in what is now Slovakia, Czech children from Lidice, and Polish children born to forced laborers and displaced persons. What united these stories was the recognition that the war’s end did not immediately bring safety or stability. For many children, the postwar period introduced new forms of coercion and control, particularly within institutions that claimed to act in their best interests.

In his own presentation, “Departing from Krickerhau, Arriving to Handlová: Migration in Childhood Memories of German Expellees and Slovak Settlers,” Michal returned to the microcosm of Handlová (formerly Krickerhau), a community deeply marked by the reshuffling of populations after 1945. Through oral history interviews, he traced the contrasting yet interconnected memories of two groups of children: the German inhabitants forced to leave their homes with only a small part of their possessions, and the Slovak settlers who arrived to occupy those same houses.

Beyond the academic sessions, Michal was also able to experience Washington, D.C. in a more personal way. He visited several of the city’s landmarks and museums, each offering a different perspective on American history and public memory. One of the most memorable moments of the trip was joining a Ghost and Graveyard tour in Alexandria – a lively and atmospheric walk that added an unexpected layer of storytelling to the visit.

Overall, the ASEEES Annual Convention offered a rich blend of scholarly exchange, new perspectives, and cultural exploration. For Michal, it was an opportunity not only to share his work and learn from others, but also to place these histories of displacement and memory within a broader global context.

In November, our researcher, Karina Hoření, co-organised an online workshop with Veronika Warzycha from the Leibniz Institute for Research for Society and Space. Karina and Veronika met this summer at the Memory Studies Association conference in Prague and found that they are both interested in industrial heritage in the Czech-Polish-German borderlands. While Karina is focused on material legacies of textile production in northern Bohemia, Veronika´s PhD project is about twin cities on the Oder/Odra river and how industry is constructed as their shared heritage. Already in Prague, they decided to continue their conversation and met in November to talk for hours about new and old borders, their impacts, and their legacies in this region. This seminar is proof that connections established at international conferences can be further developed. It certainly was not the last meeting.
 

Discover Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska’s thoughtful vignette exploring how the idea of Pomerania is shaped both personally and politically. Drawing on her own memories and experiences, she reflects on shifting perceptions of the region and offers fresh insights into what Pomerania means today. Read the full post to see how intimate stories and administrative borders come together to define a place.

Link to the blog post you can find here.

In the latest issue of the Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Studia Territorialia you can find an article written by Magdalena Bubík, titled “Cieszyn Friendship Bridge and its ghosts: the changing role of a bridge that unites and divides two countries”.

Magdalena’s article explores the changing symbolic and social role of the Friendship Bridge in Cieszyn, a town divided between Poland and Czechia by the Olza River. Once part of a militarized border zone, the bridge has evolved into a space of remembrance, reconciliation, and everyday cross-border connections. Drawing on interviews, autoethnography, archival research, and media analysis, the study shows how major political events – from the fall of communism to European integration and the COVID-19 border closures – have left their mark on the bridge’s landscape and meaning. Using the concept of hauntology, the article examines the “ghosts of the bridge”: the memories, stories, and urban traces that shape local identity and reveal how contested histories continue to influence collective belonging.

Link to the article you can find here.

Last Wednesday, following the Polish Day of Independence, our team gathered to read and discuss Spectral Borders: History, Neighbourliness and Discord on the Polish-Belarusian Frontier by Aimée Joyce (Sean Kingston Publishing, 2024). The session resulted in a heated exchange around the book’s main arguments and methods.

The discussion began with a short round of first impressions on the content of the book, followed by an open conversation about its key themes. We reflected on how the author’s approach relates to our research and considered how the book’s ideas might inform our project. Particular attention was given to the way the text handles questions of specters, visions of borderlands, and ethical challenges of anonymization and presentation of the fieldwork. Our debate was influenced by the fact that two of our team members (Karolina and Karina) conducted a fieldwork in the eastern Polish borderlands as well. We discussed how our positionality and our relationship with the region affected our reading of the book. 

The conversation concluded with reflections on how this book contributes to ongoing questions about hauntology as a metaphor, method, and theoretical framework. Overall, the meeting provided space for thinking collaboratively about how scholarship continues to evolve through shared reading and discussion.

At the beginning of November, Magdalena spent a week in Vienna as part of the “Young Researchers in Vienna – 2nd Edition” program. Her stay in the capital of the former Habsburg Monarchy provided an excellent opportunity to explore the University of Vienna’s library resources. Still, the highlight of her visit was a research lecture in the Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Vienna, during which Magdalena presented the theoretical and methodological framework of her doctoral work and shared a case study on the painting of Jesus in Liberec. The presentation sparked a lively discussion with students, faculty members, and guest listeners — in English, Polish, and Czech. This time in Vienna was exceptionally productive and inspiring, offering valuable feedback and new ideas for the next stages of her research.

The visit was made possible thanks to the support of the Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Station in Vienna and the Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Vienna, represented by Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Stefan-Michael Newerkla.

At the end of October, our team had the pleasure of hosting Dr. David Duindam from the University of Amsterdam for a fascinating seminar titled “The Ruins of Radio Malabar: Infrastructure as Colonial Heritage in Indonesia”. The presentation drew from the ongoing research project “Concrete Colonialism: Architecture and Heritage in Indonesia around Independence” which David conducts together with Dr. Rixt Woudstra and Anita Halim Lim, M.A.

David presented his findings and thoughts on the circulation, use, and afterlives of concrete in the former Dutch East Indies and postcolonial Indonesia. His project explores how this seemingly modern, durable material became entangled with histories of colonial governance, technological ambition, and nation-building. Focusing on two early radio stations, one in Kootwijk (the Netherlands) and one in Malabar (Indonesia), he traces how concrete connects infrastructures, landscapes, and political imaginaries across continents. The presentation highlighted how radio technology, landscape engineering, and colonial aesthetics intersected, turning “infrastructure” into both a material and symbolic bridge between Europe and Southeast Asia.

In an engaging discussion, team members reflected on themes of migratory heritage, the durability and decay of concrete, and the ways colonial legacies persist in postcolonial space. Questions of ethnographic method, environmental impact, and the emotional meanings of material heritage enriched the exchange.

We thank David for sharing his thought-provoking research and for inspiring our team to think critically about how materials themselves, such as concrete, carry histories of empire, memory, and transformation.

At the beginning of October, Magdalena took part in her mid-term doctoral assessment – an important milestone for every PhD researcher according to the Polish law on higher education. After the first two years of working, every PhD candidate is obliged to provide proofs of their work and discuss them with the impartial committee. Here, the evaluation committee consisted of dr hab. Anna Engelking, Professor at the Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences; dr hab. Robert Kulmiński, Professor at the University of Warsaw; and dr. Katarzyna Taczyńska, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences. This meeting served not only to discuss the progress of Magdalena’s research so far but also to reflect on future directions and upcoming research goals.

We are happy to share that the committee recognized that Magdalena is conducting her research in a timely and consistent manner, meeting all planned objectives and activities. She received a positive assessment, which means she can now continue developing the second part of her doctoral project.

Congratulations, Magdalena!