Summer School of Interdisciplinary Polish and German Studies 2018 “People on the Move in Twentieth Century Europe”

The Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies held its fifth annual Summer School of Interdisciplinary Polish and German Studies from June 4 - July 13, 2018. In addition to providing the equivalent of one academic year of language instruction, the summer school also offered graduate level seminars on Polish/German studies (in English, German and Polish) by the academic staff of a renowned university. The Summer School consisted of four main parts: language instruction, advanced research seminars, excursions, and specialist lectures.

Thanks to the generous support of the Wende Museum, the Summer School could be offered at reduced costs or free of charge to up to 30 students.

This Summer School focuseddifferent aspects of the mass movement of people in our region (and beyond), and shows how societies in Europe dealt with the influx of different populations. Be it for work, refuge, or simply vacation, the twentieth century has been one of mass mobility in Europe. At the beginning of the century, few people travelled outside of their region. But by 2000, tourism in Europe had become one of the largest industries. The “problem” of mass migration from war zones is not unique to the recent conflicts in the Middle East: millions of people from all nationalities were forced from their homes during the two world wars. During the Cold War, governments on both sides of the Iron Curtain accepted political refugees as a matter of principle. The ways in which societies react to mass migration—from the physical destruction of buildings and monuments belonging to the would-be “foreign enemy,” but also to the erection of tourist villages to cater to rich visitors from abroad—reveals how complicated and complex the issue is. In the era of Schengen, the mass movement of people has become perhaps the most salient symbol of European integration, just as the creation of populist parties to “protect native culture” shows the societal disconnect across the European Union. The Summer School focused primarily on history, but the scope ranges from economics to anthropology. It Explained the plethora of ways in which societies have reacted to modern mass mobility.

Amongst the guests that came to speak with students were Keely Stauter-Halsted (Chicago), Jannis Panagiotiditis (Vienna), and many others. In addition, we took a travel to one of the most distinctive cities of migration: Breslau/Wrocław.