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On September 6, 2024 we launched the Exploring Central Europe: History, Memory, and Identity Across Borders, a semester-long program organized in partnership with the University of Lower Silesia in Wroclaw, Poland and Syracuse University. Together with our students, we begin our journey through which we explore the memories of conflict and ongoing processes of reconciliation in Central Europe.
Remembering Solidarity: Poland’s Identity of Resistance
By Matthew Piasecki
For nearly 230 years, Poland has struggled to be a nation. Ever since the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was dissolved in 1795 in the third and final partition of Poland, the Polish identity has been defined by a history of struggle and resistance. more
Breaking the Silence: The Neglected Narratives of Women During War
By Katya Kauth
On the night of June 10, 1942, in the quaint town of Lidice in what is now the Czech Republic, tragedy struck as Nazis invaded and wreaked havoc upon the town. Anti-fascist resistance had been growing in occupied Bohemia and following the murder of Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the Reich Security Main Office, there was increased suspicion that his assassination was linked to the Horák family living in Lidice. more
The Confusing Logic of the Berlin Wall
By Danny Alpers
No city in my mind has been more affected by the Cold War than Berlin. While military conflicts within the Cold War came and went, Berlin remained a city divided between East and West by the allies after the defeat of Nazi Germany for more than four decades until November 9th, 1989, only two years before the fall of the Soviet Union itself. more
Jarocin: A Beacon of Hope Where Hopelessness Reigns
By Winter Cameron
From the underground fighters resisting the Nazi occupation, to workers protesting communist rule, 20th century Poland has a rich history of the formation of opposition groups. Solidarity is likely the most famous movement of the modern era, which started as a worker protest in the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk. more
Poland’s Warsaw Rising Museum: A Complex Legacy of Heroism and Civilian Suffering
By Emma Poper
During the Uprising, the civilians of Warsaw encountered extreme brutality committed by the Nazi soldiers and sanctioned by Hitler. At the end of the two-month-long battle, 85-percent of Warsaw was left in ruins, and nearly all the remaining population was forced to leave the destroyed city. more
Exploring the Bavarian Quarter- How Lessons of Memory are Passed Through Art
By Nicholas Wilkerson
During our trip to Berlin, we visited what was a major Jewish neighborhood in Berlin prior to the Second World War, known as the Bavarian Quarter, where famous Germans of the Jewish faith such as Hannah Arendt and Albert Einstein once lived during the days of the Weimar Republic. more
Looking Down to Remember: Stolpersteine and Europe’s Forgotten Lives
By Emma Poper
Traveling by foot you can stop and take in the atmosphere around you, whether that is the sites of Prague Castle in Czechia, or the fortress looming over Salzburg in Austria. Looking down at your feet is hardly the first thing you think of when you are in a new place trying to take in all that is around you. more
Reclaiming Memory: The Forgotten Story of Pohulanka
By Katya Kauth
In July of 1946, eleven guards – six men and five women from the Stutthof Concentration Camp – were hung at a public execution site in front of 200,000 Gdańsk citizens. The attendees, some being survivors of the Stutthof camp, chanted and cheered as the former guards were transported to a field where six gallows were stationed. This execution site is known as Pohulanka, meaning, “violent party, a carnival of joy gone out of control” (Mendel 125). more
Unity, Division, National Identity: 1000 Years of History at Malbork Teutonic Castle
By Nicholas Wilkerson
When our class visited the former East Prussian stronghold, known as Malbork Castle, it was safe to say I was in total awe. As a dedicated history major with a focus on the medieval period, I knew there was no historical site like Malbork Castle, home and capitol of the Teutonic Order, the deadliest enemy the upstart Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ever faced. more
By Danny Alpers
When I decided to study abroad, I chose the Syracuse University Central Europe program because I knew that we would be traveling all over central and east Europe as opposed to other abroad programs that would spend the vast majority of their time in only one city. more