Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies

Profile

Founded in July 2023, the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies (VCPU) merges the Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies and the Chair for Entangled History of Ukraine into a new research institution at the European University Viadrina. The VCPU focuses on interdisciplinary research on Polish and Ukrainian history and the present day, as well as on the transfer of science-based and up-to-date knowledge about Poland and Ukraine to the public.

Interdisciplinary conferences, workshops, open lectures, summer academies, research trips as well as university lectures and seminars by the VCPU’s academic staff and international guest researchers, several publication series, an academic blog and a YouTube channel stimulate research on Poland and Ukraine and underline the special role of the Viadrina as a place of European intellectual exchange.

Große Scharrnstraße 59
DE 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
+49 335 5534 2445
vcpu@europa-uni.de
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Visitor address

Große Scharrnstraße 23a
DE 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
Rooms 301-311

News

Conference invitation: Remembrance in the Borderland—shared, difficult, dissonant? Lublin 23 - 26 November 2026

The agenda includes an analysis of the local and European dimensions of memory in border regions, as well as the presentation of best practices relating to local memory policies, cross-border knowledge transfer and opportunities for forming transnational communities of memory. Academics and practitioners (local activists, representatives of civil society and those working in education) from Germany, Poland and Ukraine are invited to attend.

"Poland and Its Neighbours in the 20th and 21st Centuries" - IPUS Vol. 18 just published

Poland and Its Neighbours in the 20th and 21st Centuries revisits methods, assumptions, and priorities in research on Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on interdisciplinary case studies on memory, migration and wars, it argues for a nuanced understanding of the region’s past and present. The authors show that classical epistemologies, regional entanglements and materialist analyses remain indispensable. They trace convergences between Poland and its neighbours, Russia and its opponents, national projects and global processes, as well as symbolic struggles and material interests.

Terra Transoderana regional history laboratory

The aim of the Terra Transoderana regional history laboratory is to enable people to experience and engage with regional history across the German-Polish border. The project, run by the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and the University of Zielona Góra, is receiving funding of around 920,000 euros over three years as part of the European Union’s Interreg VI A Brandenburg–Poland programme. As part of the project, educational formats, methods and practical resources for cross-border educational work on regional history are being developed and tested. German and Polish museums, schools and history initiatives are involved in this process. Read more [in German]

Events

Oct

Monday 18.15

Markus Nesselrodt (Europa-Universität Viadrina) „Wozu herrschen über Polen? Preußische, französische und russische Zivilisationsmissionen um 1800 im Vergleich“

Nov

Monday 18.15

Maria Timofeeva (Universität Bonn) „Beobachter, Vermittler, Nachrichtensammler: Deutsche und russische/sowjetische Militärattachés 1890-1941“

Nov

Wednesday 18.00

Opening of the TERRA TRANSODERANA Regional History Laboratory

[read more in German]

Nov

Thursday 14.00

6. Symposium Bartoszewski Promemoria "Deutsch-polnische Nachbarschaft – Bewährungsproben in Zeiten der Weltkrisen"

Research | Teaching | Transfer

Research

The research carried out at the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies is dedicated to Poland and Ukraine in a broad transregional context, considering the close entanglements – commonalities as well as conflicts – in this multi-layered contact zone. Recognizing the cultural and political agency of Poland and Ukraine, we treat our research as an integrative endeavor with a strategic interdisciplinary focus.

Teaching

In line with its research focus, the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies pursues the strategy of integrating Polish, Ukrainian, as well as Central and Eastern European studies into as many courses at the Viadrina as possible. For this reason, courses are generally offered in English and German, together with a number of seminars in Polish and Ukrainian, and are aimed at students from all three faculties at all levels of qualification – BA, MA and PhD.

Transfer

We want to share the results of our enquiries with the public. Scientifically based, trustworthy knowledge and information, especially about the complex situations and conditions in Central and Eastern Europe, are urgently needed in Germany. In order to transfer the findings of the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies projects into an enlightened public debate, we will further develop our existing formats.