Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 30 (2015): Contact Zones in the Historical Area of East Prussia = Kontaktų zonos istoriniame Rytų Prūsijos regione, pp. 20–38
Abstract
The paper is a keynote address to the conference ‘Contacts and Cultural Transfer in the Historical Region of East Prussia (1700–2000)’ that took place in Nida in September 2013. It considers what the East Prussia region means, and what it is associated with today, after it stopped existing 70 years ago. The question is asked what the current situation of East Prussian historiography is, and potential directions for the development of new relevant research are outlined. The author argues that in the process of the cognition of East Prussia, a shift was made from the conservative system of meanings, developed mainly by the former local elites in Germany after the Second World War, to the cognition of regional diversity, which existed before the era of nationalism, and to coping with national narratives about East Prussia. Simultaneously, in the former territory of East Prussia, which currently belongs to Poland, Russia and Lithuania, individual elements of the past of the region continue to occupy an increasingly important role in layers of the local identity, and form opportunities for local cultures of remembrance.
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 24 (2012): Erdvių pasisavinimas Rytų Prūsijoje XX amžiuje = Appropriation of Spaces in East Prussia during the 20th Century = Prisvoenie prostranstv v Vostochnoi Prussii v dvadtsatom stoletii, pp. 296–307
Abstract
On the basis of the research papers in the present collection, the author focuses on the issue of how specific the symbolic appropriation of the former East Prussian territories (and primarily cities, such as Kaliningrad, Olsztyn, and Klaipėda) was as compared to the expression of the process in other Lithuanian cities, such as Vilnius, Kaunas, and Šiauliai. The article discusses the role of capital cities as standards for building the cultures of remembrance in regions, the role of national (or communist) symbols as instruments of symbolic appropriation, and the impact of the communication milieus that formed and maintained the cultures of remembrance in cities. The author identifies the similarities and differences in the processes of symbolic appropriation of Klaipėda, Kaliningrad, Olsztyn, and Vilnius.
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 24 (2012): Erdvių pasisavinimas Rytų Prūsijoje XX amžiuje = Appropriation of Spaces in East Prussia during the 20th Century = Prisvoenie prostranstv v Vostochnoi Prussii v dvadtsatom stoletii, pp. 119–140
Abstract
The article reveals the principal trends of changes in the relationship with the past in the city of Kaliningrad at the turn of the 21st c. It examines how different social groups and institutions – amateur and professional historians, veterans of World War II, museums, and interest groups abroad – were solving the dilemma that emerged in Kaliningrad during the Perestroika period and were trying to choose what was native and what was foreign in the past of the city. The author argues that the active formation of the relationship with the past of the city, especially during the last decade, by those groups intertwines with the efforts to strengthen ties between Russia and its exclave and makes an impact on the Russianization of the city areas and East Prussian cultural heritage.