Our thoughts are with our Ukrainian friends and colleagues. On the orders of President Putin, on 24 February 2022, the Russian military launched an attack on a country at the heart of Europe – a nation with which we maintain diverse academic collaborations and where friends, colleagues and family members of our employees reside. As human beings, we are deeply concerned; as scholars, we are alarmed that massive historical distortions are being used as a pretext for an unlawful invasion. We appeal to the German public to listen to experts rather than historical fabrications when seeking to understand Central and Eastern Europe. We stand with the people of Ukraine in hoping for an end to the aggression, pay tribute to their courage and dedication and acknowledge the many individuals in Russia and Belarus who openly express criticism despite the risks they face.
Support for Displaced Scholars
The NGO #ScienceForUkraine has compiled an overview of support opportunities and aid offers for Ukrainian scholars on their website.
The GWZO employs numerous scholars who specialise in Ukraine – its culture, history, politics and society – and are available to provide expert insights and assessments for journalistic interviews.
The e-learning course »Die Ukraine. Geschichte und Gegenwart eines europäischen Staates« (in German) provides a solid foundation of knowledge about Ukraine and its history. The GWZO coordinated the work of seven Leibniz institutions that collaborated in devising this course, suitable for both students and adults.
GWZO experts are happy to share their regional expertise on Central and Eastern Europe in schools across Leipzig and the surrounding area. Interested teachers, please contact Alexander Weidle and leave your contact information. We will get back to you to discuss the content and timing of our support.
Experts from the Leibniz Institutes answer questions about Russia's war against Ukraine in short videos. These videos are part of the e-learning course »Ukraine«.
The »Research Quartet«, the GWZO podcast in collaboration with detektor.fm, dedicated its episode on 6 October 2022 to the topic »How does research continue in exile?« (in German). Editor Charlotte Nate spoke with Natalia Khamaiko and Anastasiia Korochina, both visiting researchers at the GWZO, who research archaeological topics in the »Humans and Environment« Department.
»Ukrainische Wissenschaftlerinnen in Leipzig«, MDR Mittagsmagazin, 16 and 17 March 2023: Hartmut Schade (MDR) interviews our colleagues Natalia Khamaiko, Anastasiia Korokhina, Marcin Wołoszyn and Maren Röger about the scholarship programme for displaced researchers at the GWZO.
Leipzig Lecture Series on Ukrainian Literature, Culture and History
In the winter semester 2022/23, our lecture series focused on the history of the territories that make up present-day Ukraine. In close collaboration with displaced Ukrainian researchers, and through joint lectures, topics ranging from archaeology to contemporary history were explored. The interdisciplinary series opened with a prominent panel discussion on issues of international law related to the ongoing war against Ukraine. A particular highlight was the GWZO’s annual lecture by British-Ukrainian historian Olesya Khromeychuk, who spoke about the historical roots of the concept of freedom in the invaded country.
The lecture series was part of a cooperation between the Institute of Slavic Studies and the Historical Seminar of the University of Leipzig, the GWZO and the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow, in collaboration with the University Library Leipzig and the Polish Institute Berlin – Leipzig branch.
Selected Media Contributions
Read
Maren Röger, Veronika Wendland (Hrsg.): Wissenschaft im Überlebensmodus. Drei ukrainische Historiker*innen berichten über die Zerstörungen des Krieges, Zeitgeschichte-online, 23.2.2024. | zum Dossier
Svitlana Telukha, Dorothee Riese, Antje Johanning-Radžienė (Hrsg.): Die verletzte Stadt. Bewohner:innen berichten vom Angriff auf ihre Stadt Charkiw, Themenschwerpunkt im Portal Copernico, 06.02.2024. | zum Themenschwerpunkt
Listen
Online-Ausstellung über die Zerstörung historischer Bauten in der Ukraine, Interview mit Arnold Bartetzky zur Ausstellung »Destroyed Ukrainian Heritage«, Fazit, DLF Kultur, 24.02.2025. | zum Beitrag
View
»Pizza, PAX & Politics: Stell dir vor es ist Krieg…«, Timm Schönfelder im Podiumsgespräch zum Krieg gegen die Ukraine, 06.05.2022. | zum Beitrag
