Writing history together – panel discussion on the German-Polish handbook on the occupation of Poland

German and Polish academics are currently working on a bilingual handbook on the German occupation of Poland from 1939 to 1945 and its impact on Polish civil society. They are assessing the current state of research, critically evaluating it and drawing attention to gaps in knowledge. On Tuesday, October 7, 6 p.m., the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies (VCPU), which is involved in the development of the book, invites you to a panel discussion with the editors.

Prof. Dr. Stephan Lehnstaedt (Touro University Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Paweł Machcewicz (Instytut Spraw Politycznych, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) will provide insights into the creation and objectives of the handbook in a discussion moderated by Viadrina historian Prof. Dr. Werner Benecke. Interested parties are cordially invited to take part in the discussion in the Logensaal of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Logenstraße 11. The event will be simultaneously interpreted into Polish.

Research on the German occupation of Poland during the Second World War is almost unmanageable, even for specialists. Debates often take place along national borders and language skills often limit the perception of each other's academic findings. At the same time, there is a great need for competent orientation – not only in teaching, but also in museum mediation and even for political debates, which often revolve around a lack of historical knowledge, guilt and responsibility at the foreign policy level.

Against this background, the Polish Academy of Sciences and Touro University Berlin are jointly producing the volume "Polen unter deutscher Besatzung 1939-1945. Ein Handbuch / Polska pod okupacją niemiecką 1939-1945. Podręcznik". Supported by the German-Polish Science Foundation and the Brandenburg State Agency for Civic Education, the first integrative overall presentation since 1970 is being created, which examines anti-Polish politics, the Holocaust, German perpetrators, resistance and everyday life and, last but not least, the imagery of the occupation. Pitfalls, challenges and conceptual difficulties will also be discussed in view of the volume's signal effect for German-Polish historical research projects. Part of the team of four German and four Polish researchers is VCPU postdoctoral researcher Dr. Frank Grelka, who will write the first chapter entitled "The Invasion and Occupation of Poland: Structures, Borders, People". Grelka is also the author of a new monograph entitled "Murderous Waste. The Beginning of the Holocaust in the General Government", which Prof. Dr. Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast (Director of the VCPU) will present during the welcoming address.

The panel discussion will take place as part of the exhibition "Some were neighbors: perpetration, followership and resistance", which can be visited free of charge at the Museum Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) until the end of the year.