News

The Spectral Recycling Team kicked off our internal seminars for the new year on January 15, 2025, with a reading session featuring Christiane Hoffmann’s book, “Alles, was wir nicht erinnern: Zu Fuß auf dem Fluchtweg meines Vaters” (2022). The Polish edition, “Czego nie pamiętamy. Pieszo śladami ucieczki ojca” translated by Ewa Czerwiakowska, was published by Ośrodek Karta last year.

This read is among the latest accounts of the experiences of the German expellees and their children. After her father’s death, Hoffmann decided to walk the route her family took to escape the Red Army in the winter of 1945. Starting from their village of Rosenthal (now Różyna) in Lower Silesia, she followed the footsteps of the expellees to Křižovatka in today’s Czech Republic, covering nearly 550 kilometers westward. Through this journey, she sought to explore the impact of history on her family’s life and other expelled Germans. She also addressed issues of German memory, guilt, and responsibility.

Our team delved into the topic of inherited traumas and the portrayal of post-displacement regions, focusing on Poland and Czechia. We pondered how Hoffmann’s journey compared to our own fieldwork experiences. The discussion proved to be both insightful and enriching.

Since our whole team participated in the conference “Memory and Populism from Below”, we used this opportunity to meet for the last time in 2024 in December, in Prague.

 Despite the busy conference schedule, we also managed to have some project meetings. We took time to look back at what we achieved in 2024 and made plans for 2025.  

In 2024, each of us spent several weeks doing field research. As a team, we published six articles in academic journals. At a meeting in Greifswald in early autumn we prepared the basis for our future book. 

In 2025, we will gradually complete our field research, and concentrate on working on the book. In addition to the meeting devoted to planning, we also had a walking seminar in Prague’s Stromovka Park where we discussed broader topics connected to our research. The foggy December weather inspired us to think about hauntology and take some stylish photos as well.

Michal Korhel successfully defended his doctoral thesis at the University of Leipzig in a cotutelle arrangement with the J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (supervisors were: Prof. Dr. Maren Röger; doc. Mgr. Martin Veselý, Ph.D., reviewers: Prof. Dr. Maren Röger; doc. Mgr. Martin Veselý, Ph.D.; doc. PhDr. Anton Hruboň, PhD., Prof. Dr. Frank Hadler). The title of his thesis was “An der Grenze der Nation: Deutsch-tschechische Kinder in der Nachkriegstschechoslowakei, 1945-1960/On the Nation’s Border: Czech-German Children in Post-WWII Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960.” The topic of the thesis sheds light on the experiences of Czech-German children living in the post-World War II Czechoslovakia, offering valuable insights into the historical, social, and cultural context of the time.
We wish Michal continued success in his future scientific endeavors.

From December 6-8, 2024, Big Book Cafe MDM hosted “Między nami mówiąc: Festiwal spraw polsko-niemieckich”. This three-day festival, supported by the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, highlighted important topics shared by Poles and Germans through books, debates, and performances.

One of the festival’s key events was the debate “Recovered – Lost: On Lands, Things, and Fates”, focusing on the post-war changes in Polish-German borders that led to forced migrations, resettlements, and their ongoing social ramifications. Among the guests was our PI, Karolina. She joined Prof. Maren Röger from the University of Leipzig and journalist Nancy Waldmann for an engaging discussion moderated by Dominika Buczak, author of “Całe piękno świata”, a novel devoted to the intertwined histories of Polish and German families.

The discussion explored how expulsion and resettlement are remembered in both Polish and German societies, addressing the myths and facts surrounding this period. It provided deep insights into how past events shape current Polish-German relations, the ongoing efforts to reconcile and understand these histories, and how they are instrumentalized in populist discourses on both sides.

You can see a recording from the meeting (in Polish) on Facebook profile of Big Book Cafe.

In the latest issue of the Historický časopis you can find an article written by Michal Korhel titled “Povojnová migrácia na Slovensku: perspektíva osídlencov a ich detí v Handlovej”.

Post-WWII migration processes had a major impact on societies across Europe. Re-established post-war Czechoslovakia was no exception. The Czechoslovak state authorities used forced as well as voluntary migration as a tool to achieve a nationally homogenous Czech and Slovak society. In comparison to previous research focusing on the consequences of post-WWII migration in the Czech lands and southern Slovakia, the current study explores social aspects of migration processes based on the example of Handlová – a mining town located in central Slovakia. Originally a predominantly German town, it experienced a significant population exchange at the end of WWII and during its aftermath, so that it became a town of settlers. With the help of archival research and oral history interviews the study examines post-WWII migration through the perspective of settlers and their children, commonly under-represented in existing studies. Who were the settlers in Handlová and what problems did they encounter in their everyday life upon their arrival? Even though they were considered to be Slovaks, they came to Handlová from various countries and therefore also from various cultural backgrounds. Together with the remnants of the original population they created a rather heterogenous society consisting of smaller communities based on their country of origin. This heterogeneity was reflected in the everyday life of settlers in Handlová and led to social tensions and conflicts. These were additionally intensified through the policy of the state authorities, which provided varying material support to people of different origin. On the other hand, it was the common mining profession that helped the settlers establish social contacts and adapt themselves to the local social environment.

Link to the article you can find here.

Reporting history is more than just describing the past. It is about building bridges to the present, uncovering what influences contemporary identities, and examining how history—and the way we narrate it—shapes today’s communities on both micro and macro scales. How then do journalists find topics, verify knowledge, and create content that resonates beyond history enthusiasts? How do grand narratives, including those crafted by leading institutions, influence the language of history in the media? How academic tools can be used outside academia, and where are the tensions between academia and nonfiction?

These were the themes of the seminar AI and History Reporting organized by the Instytut Reportażu and the German Association of Journalists. Twenty journalists from Poland and Germany, who are engaged in historical reporting, whether from local or mainstream media, got a chance to participate in an English-language seminar for journalists, November 21-26, 2024, in Poznań, Poland.

Karolina proposed a short workshop on “How to approach German ghosts? Writing hauntologies”. She started from the point of view that we usually think of ghosts as a handy metaphor or a narrative device. However, is there a way of approaching them using ethnographic or anthropological methods? During the meeting, the attendees learned about hauntology, an alternative ontology, a language of ghosts, and thought together about how it may affect our writing practices.

In early December, our entire team had the opportunity to participate in the conference Memory and Populism from the Margins held in Prague. The event was organized by the ERC project Memory and Populism from Below (MEMPOP), lead by Johana Wyss at the Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy of Sciences. Participants from across Europe and beyond gathered for their sessions in the stunning neo-Renaissance Villa Lanna, owned by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.
Karina delivered a presentation on the “Sudeten Card,” engaging with participants to explore why and how the residents of post-displacement regions in the Czech Republic are often perceived as particularly prone to populism.

Michal examined the construction of lapidaria, a place where historical stone architectural elements (e.g. parts of cemetery gravestones) are collected and displayed, dedicated to former German inhabitants in West Pomerania, questioning whether this phenomenon could be considered a fashion.

Karolina, in turn, highlighted how events of past and presents might intersect with the narratives of subsequent generations of settlers to Polish Recovered Territories who have family roots in the Eastern Borderlands. Magdalena, on the other hand, took diligent notes, found inspiration, and reflected on how these discussions could inform her research centered on the sacred.

Our team was further strengthened by the participation of Ewa Wróblewska-Trochimiuk from the Institute of Slavic Studies, to which our project is affiliated. Ewa’s presentation focused on the Belgrade waterfront, offering insights into how visual strategies are employed to promote populist narratives in Serbia. We were delighted to have Ewa with us, as hearing diverse perspectives is always enriching–especially since Balkan issues were a recurring topic throughout the conference. Naturally, the discussions extended beyond the sessions, continuing during breaks and informal moments. While the Balkans may not be our primary research focus, we wholeheartedly support Ewa and her fellow scholars in their important work.

The conference not only inspired thoughtful reflection on the nature of populism and its diverse manifestations but also offered valuable insights into the transformations of post-displacement areas following 1945. We are truly delighted to have been part of this event and extend our best wishes to the MEMPOP project for fruitful research. We sincerely hope this is just the beginning of our collaboration and not the last opportunity to connect.

Post-displacement regions can be complex and difficult to define, as they often have multiple interpretations and narratives. Magdalena Bubík, in her reflection on the exhibition ‘Things Adopted,’ highlights the challenge of describing the “Recovered Territories” by comparing it to choosing one door among many. This suggests that the specificity of these territories is not easily captured and may require a nuanced understanding.

Link to the blog post you can find here.

At the end of November, the majority of our team met in Brno, at the invitation of the local chapter of the Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Thanks to the Department of Memory Studies’ kind invitation, we presented our research’s preliminary results to its members and the public. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska presented the theoretical and methodological framework of the research. Karina Hoření introduced her novel rethinking of the Czech and Slovak borderlands based on data from her ethnographic and archival research. Magdalena Bubík presented several case studies from her research on formerly German Protestant churches in North Bohemia. We discussed our research for over two hours and received valuable feedback. Thank you again for the invitation!

Our manager and facilitator, Angelika Zanki, drawing from her experience in promoting scientific activities, engaged in interactive session with PhD students at the Anthropos Doctoral School. The meeting served as a platform for knowledge-sharing and brainstorming, focusing on effective strategies for scientists to promote themselves and their research. The emphasis was on the dos and don’ts of self-promotion, as well as the exploration of various promotional channels and approaches. Our manager also highlighted examples of successful promotional practices and activities carried out under the Spectral Recycling grant.