The New Pomeranians

The Pommersches Landesmuseum was established in the university town of Greifswald shortly following German reunification. It strives to promote understanding and reconciliation between Germany and its neighbouring country of Poland. This project aims to research and present the history of the region “Pomorze Zachodnie” – Western Pomerania. It is an attempt by the Museum of Pomeranian History, Art and Culture to address a sensitive chapter of Polish-German history. When the war ended in 1945, evacuees, repatriated citizens, foreign workers and displaced persons embarked on a difficult journey westward to Western Pomerania where they made a new home for themselves in Germany. Their history has received very little public attention. All the personal narratives conclude with the dismantling of the German-Polish border controls in 2007 when Poland joined the Schengen Area. With a focus on empirical work and interviews with contemporary witnesses, the Polish fellow will collaborate with a transnational team to study documents from the “Stalin era” and prepare them for presentation as a museum exhibition. The opportunity to highlight various perspectives and facets makes this project especially attractive. By collaborating with a Polish historian, the exhibition will be able to present the subject from a less distanced perspective.