Poland's Neighbors: Her Border Regions and Narratives of East and West

This is an Archive of a Past Event

Using the example of Polish border regions, the presentation examines the phenomenon of borders and border regions in connection with neighbourhood relations from the end of the Second World War until today. At what point does a border become a border region? How did neighbourhood relations develop in the course of Polish history? How far have the respective neighbours progressed in overcoming prejudice and stereotypes? These questions will be discussed within the context of Poland’s western border with Germany and her eastern borders with Russia and Ukraine. How did the perceptions of the border change in the periods of a closed and open border? How did popular narratives of the border and border region develop amidst the contexts of the Cold War and the end of Communism?

Katarzyna Stokłosa is Associate Professor in the Department of Border Region Studies at the University of Sønderborg (Denmark). She finished her PhD at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder (Germany) and her habilitation thesis at the University of Potsdam (Germany). She has published various books and articles on European border regions in comparison, dictatorships and on European history.