On May 22nd, we had the pleasure of presenting our project at the Scientific Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Vienna. We were very happy to welcome invited commentators from the Department of History at the University of Vienna, Professors Claudia Kraft and Kerstin von Lingen, who kindly agreed to provide their insights about our presentation.
The gathered guests were welcomed by the director of the Center, Piotr Szlanta. After a brief introduction by our PI, Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska, the presentation began with an explanation concerning the research design, terminology, and team composition. What followed was the four parts where we delved into the details concerning the chosen case studies we decided to present to the Viennese audience.
Firstly, Karina Hoření presented her fieldwork in Liberec, formerly German Reichenberg, in Northern Bohemia. She tackled the question of the attitudes of individuals towards the objects left behind and presented how we understand ghosts within the project. She recounted stories of families and institutions using formerly German villas while seeking to attain the status once held by the German bourgeoisie. The story of the instruments stored in one of the villas in Liberec during the war, confiscated and subsequently asked to be returned in 1947 is a fascinating tale of how the regulations concerning the redistribution in Czechoslovakia looked like. Karina followed the attempts of the Austrian owner to recall the fate of the instruments and showed how archival research is complemented by ethnography. Thus, she presented her attempts to trace where one of the instruments, namely a piano, may have been stored. If you are interested in Karina’s research, please visit our blog where she recently presented (in Czech) an intriguing case of another confiscated piece of property, a Sinti wagon.
What followed was Karolina highlighting the post-war history of recycling various items and objects in the Central Pomerania region in Poland, in Wałcz county (formerly German Deutsch Krone) reminding that their acquisition and modification were often carried out with the consent of the authorities at that time, in accordance with the decree of 1946 regarding abandoned and formerly German properties. She focused on how the cemeteries in the town were reused, showing how recycling can be understood as a literal strategy of living with remnants. If you are interested in what happened to the German heritage in the years following the incorporation of Central Pomerania into Poland, you can read Karolina’s blog post (in Polish) about the fate of the monument of the lion, erected as a war memorial in Deutsch Krone in 1925, and toppled down in the postwar Wałcz.
Third part of the presentation was Magdalena Bubík discussing the transformation of former Protestant churches and objects in Piła (formerly German Schneidemühl) in the Northern Wielkopolska region. These church properties were repurposed as elements in private homes, such as a baptismal font being used as an ashtray. This demonstrates a shift in the use and significance of religious artifacts in the community. Magdalena’s presentation shed light on the fate of these objects and the impact of cultural and historical changes on their perception and value. It prompts reflection on the evolving religious and social landscape in the region. If you want to see what other ghosts Magdalena has traced since she joined our team, look at her blog post (in Polish) about ghosts on the Most Przyjaźni [the Friendship Bridge] connecting the towns of Český Těšín and Cieszyn.
Finally, Michal Korhel discussed the town of Handlová and how we can follow human-nonhuman relationships in post-displacement Slovakia. To do this, he focused on a natural catastrophe of the 1960s, namely the landslide, that happened in the town. He emphasized the changes brought about by these events that are still visible in the landscape. Michal argued that it was a result of the negligence of the know-how and skills cultivated by the resettled German community of Handlová (formerly German Krickerhau). Suppose you want to know how the settlers and the generations of their children and grandchildren recycled the formerly German things according to their needs and beliefs in West Pomerania, where Michal carries out Polish part of his research. Then you should read his blog post (in Polish) about the (former) monument to the fallen soldiers of the First World War in Maszewo.
After the presentation, our esteemed guests Claudia Kraft and Kerstin von Lingen shared their thoughts on the research examples presented earlier, as well as asked general questions about the project. Thanks to their valuable insights, we were able to elaborate on the Central European context of our research, or selected methodologies we use, as well as attempts to describe the quality of being formerly German in Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia.
We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Scientific Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Vienna. We are especially grateful to Monika Gromala and Marcin Kaim who facilitated our visit. We believe that our cooperation will bring positive outcomes for all participants. We appreciate the insightful input from our guests and value the enriching discussion that took place during the event and afterwards.