War, Migration, Memory

are the topics of a Ukrainian research group investigating the transformative effects of war, displacement and flight on history, memory and ties. Prisma Ukraïna: War, Migration, Memory employs the case of Ukraine as a lens through which to examine the evolving nature of memory and history in Europe, the resilience of pluralistic societies, the impact of war-related displacement and migration, the role of science, objects and images in times of crisis. As a field of research, Ukraine offers a more nuanced understanding of Europe and provides opportunities for comparison with developments in other regions of the world.

The research group builds on the work of the Prisma Ukraïna research network, initiated by Andrii Potnov in 2014, initially under the name Berlin-Brandenburg Ukraine Initiative. The framework topic of the research group was conceived by Viktoriya Sereda, who led the project from 2022 to the end of 2023 as a Senior Fellow of the Forum Transregionale Studien. She will continue to be associated with the research group as a member and adviser in her new role as Head of Scientific Activities of the Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Study. 

The group currently comprises 10 researchers based in Ukraine and in locations of their refuge in Germany and Switzerland. They have developed topics and forms of joint work in virtual and hybrid meetings, document the transformation of memory through interviews and collections of material, work on their own research projects, present them for discussion in seminars and discuss them with researchers from other regions. Over the course of the project, a permanent working group has been formed, which has been coordinated since 2024 by sociologist Lidia Kuzemska, who was appointed as a Fellow at the Forum.

The WAR, MIGRATION, MEMORY research group operates in a decentralised manner, with its members not only defining the project content but also shaping the scientific programme and the editorial processes of science communication. The group's work combines disciplinary approaches (sociology, linguistics, history, media studies, cultural studies, human geography) with qualitative and quantitative research methods, resulting in multimodal research outputs that are disseminated to various target audiences in Ukraine and internationally. Furthermore, the political implications of the research results are considered and taken into account. A multilingual and regionally competent science communication and administration team at the Forum supports the research group.

As a project within the Prisma Ukraïna research network, the research group contributes to the strengthening of a network of Eastern European researchers in and outside Ukraine and Berlin, transcending disciplinary, institutional and national boundaries.

Prisma Ukraïna and the research group War, Migration, Memory is coordinated and organised by the Forum's office. The Senate Department for Science, Health and Care of the State of Berlin provides the project with personnel funds for the administrative and scientific communication support of the research group at the Forum. The Gerda Henkel Foundation supports the researchers with "sur-place" scholarships in Ukraine and residency scholarships in Germany and Switzerland, as well as with additional funds for scientific events.

The results are disseminated through collective editorial processes and published on the TRAFO blog. The revised versions will be included in the Forum's dossiers. Two dossiers will be published during the course of 2024: Viktoriya Sereda (ed.): War, Migration and Memory. Transregional Perspectives on Russia's War against Ukraine and Miglė Bareikytė, Natasha Klimenko, Viktoriya Sereda (ed.): Images and Objects of Russia's War against Ukraine.

Following an initial period of development and conception in 2022/23, the War, Migration, Memory project will enter a new phase in the 2024-2025 funding period. During this phase, the results of previous research will be further conceptualised, and new foci will be set. The project will place greater emphasis on temporal perspectives, with a particular focus on the changes between the pre-war, war and potential post-war periods.

The research will be continued in three work packages developed in collaboration with the fellows. The focal topics are as follows:

1. Memory of  War, Memory during  War, Memory as  War

2. Diversity of Displacement, Diversity of Returns

3. Rethinking Eastern European Studies in Times of Upheaval

The research group's objective is to make a long-lasting impact on the internationalisation of Ukrainian scholarship, the redefinition of Eastern European Studies and the establishment of productive working relationships with Ukrainian scholars. Their research has the potential to influence national historiography and the reorganisation of historical narratives at the very moment when history happens.

Memory of War, Memory during War, Memory as War

The experience of war profoundly transforms the individual and collective memory. Whether displaced or not, whether abroad or in Ukraine, whether under occupation or in the army, whether with or without medical care - the experiences and memories of war are different and shape the individual's and the collective's sense of belonging. The recollection of war experiences can subsequently become a source of contention, for example, when official accounts privilege a select number of events, individuals, and groups at the forefront of the official culture of remembrance while marginalising or silencing other experiences. Although the official media tends to present people as either collaborators or traitors, the digital space of social networks, war accounts and individual experiences can help to reveal a more nuanced picture and uncover how war narratives evolve over time.

The experience of war has the capacity to alter collective memory, as well as individual memories, and, not least, history itself. Memories of the Second World War, for example, are part of the personal family past and a constitutive element of the Soviet ideological system. The experiences of the current war have an impact on collective and personal memory and perception of the past war. This is related to the earlier instrumentalisation of the Second World War. The Soviet narrative of the Great Patriotic War was a mixture of history, myth and propaganda, which was used by contemporary Russian actors to justify the invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, references to the Second World War are also evident in Ukrainian discourses. In this context, however, the Russian aggressor is equated with the Nazis, and the territory of Ukraine is recalled as a battlefield of war.

The influence of current war experiences can lead people to reassess similar historical experiences from previous generations, particularly those within their own family history. Memory can influence expectations of the future: The long-standing and familiar pattern of remembering and commemorating the Second World War can influence expectations of future commemoration and representation of the memory of the ongoing war. Furthermore, the reformulation of memory narratives also challenges existing global narratives and mnemonic practices that are relevant to current decolonisation debates in Eastern European studies.

Diversity of Displacement, Diversity of Returns

A number of researchers in the group are engaged in examining the phenomenon of forced internal and external displacement of Ukrainians. Their experiences of displacement vary according to the country of displacement and destination. The focus is on the experiences of Ukrainians who have fled or been displaced to Germany and Russia, as well as on the family, economic and health situation of displaced persons (e.g. oncological patients in Germany or the situation of transnational families living between Ukraine and Germany) and their plans to return to Ukraine.

Similarly, the different effects of the Ukrainian war displacement on the host communities, for instance in Germany, are analysed. The depiction of Ukrainian refugees as a homogeneous group and of Ukrainian society in the past and present in homogeneous terms does not align with the diverse experiences of displacement, the potential consequences and the spectrum of expectations of the post-war situation as perceived by the participating researchers. Particularly from a temporal perspective, it becomes evident that the diversity of displacement experiences has profound implications for expectations of the post-war situation, for example to the Ukrainian media, healthcare and migration policy.

Rethinking Eastern European Studies in Times of Upheaval

The third work package concerns the necessity to reflect on the situation and orientation of Eastern European studies. This is particularly relevant in Germany, Western Europe and the USA, where the categorisation of countries and minority groups in the east of the European subcontinent within a framework of Slavic or Eastern European studies dominated by Russia is no longer tenable. The central question appears to be the role of the humanities and social sciences in the context of free and open societies. This encompasses their role in combating distortions of the past and future in times of war and in dealing with authoritarian impulses, temptations and practices. The importance of research-based expertise on Ukraine extends beyond academic purposes and the reorientation of Eastern European-related sciences. It is also important in planning practical political steps, e.g., in shaping and implementing the return and/or integration of Ukrainian refugees, strengthening the cohesion of diverse societies, and ultimately, the reconstruction of the country. As Eastern European studies can no longer be dominated by a narrow focus on Russia-related topics, there is a pressing need for a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the history and societies of neighbouring countries, including Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, and the Czech Republic.

The reorientation of Eastern European studies in Germany and the reorientation of the humanities and social sciences in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries are closely intertwined and must be examined in comparison to other societies and phenomena within and outside the region. Eastern Europe is no longer the same as it was in the last century. The profound changes occurring in the region have a direct impact on the security, ecology and economic well-being of Europe as a whole and its neighbouring regions. The humanities and social sciences in Ukraine should utilise the ongoing broader academic debate about the country and the region to reflect on the manner in which to address the legacy of the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and past and present relations with neighbouring countries.