October 24th 2024, Day Two of the (P)Ostkolonialismus Conference at the Pilecki-Institut Berlin.



This video includes Session 3 of the Conference's program:

Session 3: Colonial Narratives about Eastern and Central Europe
Chair: Professor Dirk Uffelmann

Dr Anna Damięcka-Wójcik (Warszawa), Orientalisierung der Masuren als ethnische Gruppe: Eine Studie zur Wahrnehmung des Anderen im 19. Jahrhundert in Preußen

Dr Mateusz Maleszka (Bydgoszcz), The theory of "Restgermanen" as a basis for German territorial or political claims in the period 1890-1945

Benedikt Putz (Berlin), Colonial Narratives and Continuities in the Weimar Republic in the Context of the Struggle for Upper Silesia 1919-1921

The Speakers engage in a discussion round with the audience, after their presentations.



During our conference researchers from various academic disciplines will discuss the potential benefits and challenges of postcolonial and decolonial perspectives on the historical and contemporary entanglements of the areas under study.

A representative study recently commissioned by Pilecki Institute Berlin has revealed the prevailing stereotypes and knowledge gaps in German society regarding the history and present of Poland, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe. In light of the study results, the Pilecki Institute Berlin is organizing a three-day conference, titled "(P)Ostkolonialismus - Postcolonial Perspectives on Poland, Ukraine and Eastern Europe". Researchers from various academic disciplines will discuss the potential benefits and challenges of postcolonial and decolonial perspectives on the historical and contemporary entanglements of the areas under study. Our aim is to create a discursive space to illuminate and question the continuities of colonial traditions of thought in Germany, their impact on the German history of violence, and their influence on contemporary Erinnerungskulturen.

In the 19th century, Poland, the so called “Wild East”, already formed part of Germany's colonial aspirations (Kopp 2012). Both Prussia and the German Empire, as well as the Nazi state, repeatedly attempted to fulfill their colonial settlement ambitions in Eastern Europe. The German mass crimes in the region during the Second World War were based on these continuities of anti-Slavic policies and convictions.

These patterns of thought and behavior towards Eastern Europe continue to have an impact in many respects to the present day. Colonial traditions of thought are also reflected in Erinnerungskultur and historical debates. The gaps and absences in German collective memory of the National Socialist war of extermination in Eastern Europe have come to light, not only in the wake of 24 February 2022 and corresponding discourse on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

By integrating diverse interdisciplinary and interpretative perspectives and initiating a constructive dialogue between them, we address the following question: How can postcolonial and decolonial approaches dismantle prevailing stereotypes and address knowledge gaps as well as absences in German Erinnerungskultur?

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