Transnational paradigms in Eastern Europe research in Germany and Poland during the interwar period.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ralph Schattkowsky
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2017 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 386396433

Intensity and dynamics of Eastern Europe research in Germany and Poland have a number of common prerequisites and fundamentals that make them comparable. In both countries there is a strong interest in the East due to the historical dimension of state existence, which is the result of the strong politicization and the exposed position of Eastern Europe research within historical research in both countries. After all, it is (Soviet) Russia, which occupies a key position in Eastern Europe research in Germany and Poland. Its geopolitical assessment is of both high and, to a certain extent, even existential importance for both countries and also decides on the position towards and in Central Eastern Europe as a traditional power policy space.Relevant research has presented important papers on German and Polish Eastern Europe research. Also, is well studied how German Eastern research and Polish Western research were related to each other. On the other hand, the structural analogies and communicative bridges between the two Eastern European studies are not explored. This results in an innovative field of research which, with the methodical approach of the transnational, explores the perceptions, communication patterns, and also interconnections that have led to paradigmatic similarities through their embedding in research.Taking into account the research situation and the weighting within the framework of Eastern European research, the project concentrates on four main focuses, which are mainly related to research perspectives towards immediate and important phenomena within Eastern European history, and which have developed an imperative approach in terms of opinion formation and conceptualization insofar as they decided over participation and dominance in the modern science landscape and thus gained a significant political relevance.1. East as a potential cultural- and political-civilizing space for domain and expansion.2. Revolution in Russia and the recognition of the social revolution as a historical category.3. Bolshevism and the creation of typology of tyranny.4. Prometheism as a doctrine of the historical conditionality of a particular responsibility to action in the East, focussing on the direct political exploitation and effectiveness of Eastern Europe research.The aim of the project is to provide answers to the question how, in the two established centers of Eastern Europe research during the interwar period, transnational thought models, conceptualities and assessment criteria are established despite the existing high political obstacles, which have a lasting influence on the structure, problems, results and international positioning of national Eastern Europe research.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Poland
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Roman Bäcker; Professor Dr. Maciej Górny; Professor Dr. Marek Kornat; Professor Dr. Milos Reznik