borderland – Cyfrowi humaniści / Digital humanists

Journey to former Polish East South borderland

agakud — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 22:21:00 +0000

If you are looking for new place to discover, I recommend you to make a journey to former Polish East South borderland. The region has a lot to offer. You need to make the journey in few days, at least 5. The route and topics which you could reflect on you can see on the link here.

I. L’viv and Galicia – topic: relationships between nations, structures of power and stabilisation of power, culture and literature of borderland (part 1)

1. L’viv – politics of nations in relation to the city space on example of monuments, commemoration of the past, e.g. nostalgia and the Habsburg monarchy, nationalisation, Holocaust versus Holodomor

2. Żółkwia / Zowkwa – Jews and their place, „a private city” one of the biggest synagogs, conflict between aristocracy, nobility and peasants

3. Zadwórze / Zadwirja – battle against the Soviet army of Budionny on August, 17 (1920)

4. Olesko – castle of Johann III. Sobieski

5. Brody – Jewish culture and literature

II. Luzk and Wolhynia – commemoration of national conflicts

6. Luzk – former Polish regional center (Woiwode), counterpart of L’viv in the north?

7. Battlefields in Wolhynien

8. Poryck/Pawliwka – a Polish-Ukrainian monument of the massacre in 1943

9. Sokal – question of the artificial border (Kordon sokalski)

III. Galicia or East Central Poland and its blossoming

10. Drohobycz – Bruno Schulz and the three cities of Galicia

11. Boryslaw – industry and the three cities of Galicia

12. Truskavets – recreation area and the three cities of Galicia

13. Stryj – Jewish past and the monument of Stefan Bandera

14. Stanisławów / Iwano-Frankiwsk – former Polish regional center (Woiwode), counterpart of L’viv in the south?

IV. Bukowina and its memory of different occupying forces

15. Czerniowce / Czernowitz and its Austrian, Romanian and Sowjet past

16. Kamieniec Podolski / Kamjanez-Podilskyj – fortress from the 16th century

V. Galicia – culture and literature of the borderland (part 2)

17. Tschortkiw – Karl Emil Franzos

18. Tarnopol and its military and administrative meaning

19. Bereschany, Zolochiv / Złoczów as former Jewish cities

A recommended place to stay is by Iwano-Frankiwsk, in Bołszowce. It is a monastery, a center for the Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation.

Memory places of Kraków

agakud — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:52:00 +0000

I helped to conduct the seminar about history of and memory places in Kraków (13-19 May 2013) of Prof. Jürgen Angelow and (this time) Prof. Zdzisław Noga. The participants were students of the Freie Universität Berlin und Pedagogical University in Krakow. The topics of speeches were related as always to historical places (monuments, public places, churches etc.).

The development of the seminar’s concept and the seminar organistation were very important to me since my Ph.D is dedicated L’viv’s remembrance from 1867 till 1939.

Beside that I gave a speech on the every day life in Nowa Huta, relations between inhabitants of Nowa Huta and Kraków and the museum concept of Nowa Huta (ecomuseum), which was also an interesting experience.

Polish Eastern Borderland in Węgliniec

agakud — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Commemoration of an expulsion can help to overcome the trauma of expelled. This is the case with the Museum of the Polish Eastern Borderland in Węgliniec, which I visited. The history of the Museum you can read and see here. It’s of course a very emotional and not professional museum, but it’s interesting to see and to listen what the whole equipment, documents and photos mean for the museum’s founder Alfred Janicki.

Janicki deals with emotions of the visitors very instrumentally. He even makes them want to cry. Unfortunatelly he also seems to own the the whole equipment, documents and photos. He works now for the city library, so hopefully the things will be later taken over by the library.

Galicia and the petroleum industry

agakud — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:38:00 +0000

Galician poverty is a slogan from the 19th century. But not many people know that Galicia was a prosperous industry region at that time. To get to know more about it you should read the book „Three-city in the borderland. Truskawiec – Drohobycz – Borysław” („Kresowe trójmiasto. Truskawiec – Drohobycz – Borysław”) of Sanisław S. Nicieja. It is a popular science book which shows not very known facts about the region.

Another expert on the theme is Tomasz Kuba Kozłowski. His meetings about former Easter regions of Poland in Warsaw are always very popular. One of his topis was Borysław and petroleum industry (17.05.2012, 19.00, Al. Wilanowska 43 c, organizers: Dom Spotkań z Historią, Restauracja Kresowiak).

Memory places and culture of remembrance in L’viv

agakud — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:25:00 +0000

Remembrance culture and memory places in L’viv are more and more interesting as a research topic. To give the students the opportunity of researches on the topic Prof. Jürgen Angelow (University Potsdam/University of the Saarland) organised a seminar on this topic in L’viv 2007 and 2012.

The topics were divided into 6 sessions:

1. Memory places of Ukrainians and Poles,
2. Memory of Habsburg rule over Central Europe (L’viv),
3. Memory of Holocaust and Jewish life in L’viv,
4. Death cult und multinationality – cemeteries of L’viv,
5. World War II and „Soviet time” – commemoration of Germans and Soviets in the city,
6. Other minorities on example of Armenians.

2007 the seminar was organised by Prof. Angelow, M.A. Iryna Kharyk and me. Then the participants came from the Potsdam University and L’viv University. They gave lectures on different aspects of national culture of remembrance in L’viv.

In 2012 me, Matthias Guttke, the lector of German Academic Exhange Service (DAAD), Sabine Schwager, the DAAD assistant, helped to conduct the seminar. The participants of this seminar were students of the University of the Saarland (history) and the Ivan-Franko-University of L’viv (intercultural communication).

Team of the seminar „Culture of remembrance in L’viv”, me, Prof. Jürgen Angelow and Iryna Kharyk (University L’viv, 2007).

Literature: On The Frontiers of Central Europe: Ukrainian Galicia at the Turn of the Millennium
Музей „Тюрма на Лонцького”
Тарик Сиріл Амар. ІНАКША, АЛЕ ПОДІБНА, ЧИ ПОДІБНА, АЛЕ ІНАКША? ПУБЛІЧНА ПАМ’ЯТЬ ПРО ДРУГУ СВІТОВУ ВІЙНУ У ПОСТРАДЯНСЬКОМУ ЛЬВОВІ.