European Network Remembrance and Solidarity

Borderlands shape how people live, think and connect. Exploring life on the Neisse river, this podcast takes you to Görlitz and Zgorzelec, cities in between the German–Polish border. We gathered perspectives from locals, experts and cross-border initiatives to uncover how bridges (both literal and metaphorical) are built, and how communities have evolved transnationally. By listening to these voices from Görlitz and Zgorzelec, the episode reflects on what it means to inhabit a borderland, where identities are not fixed, but constantly redefined through dialogue, shared memories and cooperation.

This podcast is the result of the project “In Between? 2025” by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity. ENRS is funded by the Ministries of Culture of Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. The project “In Between? 2025” is co-funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

A quote from Quatour pour la fin du dempes by Olivier Messiaen was performed by Antje Weithaas, Sol Gabetta, Saine Meyer and Bertrand Chamayou.

Produced by: Luisa Chis, Antonia Kitze, Jakub Krasny, Zalikha Kurbanalieva, Alicja Nizioł, Karla Šavrtková, Rida Fatima Syeda, Ottilie Tabberer, Hanna Vollmers and Marek Wójtowicz with the support of Konrad Bielecki, Jarek Kociszewski and Helena Link.

With the contribution of: Robert Brachun (Park Mużakowski), Holger Daetz (Foundation “Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau“), Hanna Ilnicka (Interclub Femina), Valérie Lher, Marek Wolanin (Foundation MEC) and Małgorzata Zysnarska (Lusatian Museum).

Uczestnicy i uczestniczki projektu odwiedzili Pisz, Mikołajki, Kadzidłowo, Ełk oraz Ogródek badając pamięć o niemiecko-polskim sąsiedztwie sprzed ponad osiemdziesięciu lat. W podkaście przyglądają się temu jak tworzyła się tożsamość mieszkańców regionu przed 1945 r., kiedy Mazury były częścią Niemiec oraz po 1945 r., gdy tereny te zostały przekazane Polsce, a większość ich dotychczasowych mieszkańców wyjechała. Kim są Mazurzy? Czy w krajobrazie tego turystycznego regionu odnajdziemy jeszcze ślady skomplikowanej przeszłości? Te i inne pytania studenci i studentki zadali świadkom historii, lokalnym aktywistom i przedstawicielom instytucji zajmujących się historią regionu.  

Podcast stworzyli: Susana Glaza, Magda Mazurek, Katie Taylor, Miroslav Nechytaylo, Eleanor Domin, Eliška Soukupová, Alexander Jan Kurek, Andrei Lysou przy wsparciu Johna Beauchampa (FreeRange Productions), Julii Machnowskiej (ENRS) i Urszuli Bijoś (ENRS).

Dzięki wsparciu osób i instytucji: Michał Misztal (Muzeum Michała Kajki w Ogródku), Dietmar Serafin, dr Piotr Szatkowski, dr Rafał Żytyniec i Jakub Knyżewski (Muzeum Historyczne w Ełku), pastor Dariusz Zuber, Karolina Puzio i Katarzyna Jankowska (Fundacja hydro-polis), Dr Aneta Karwowska oraz pracownicy Muzeum Ziemi Piskiej w Piszu, przedstawiciele i przedstawicielki Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen e.V., Ziomkostwo Prusy Wschodnie, Rafał Kubacki i Marek Łachacz (Stowarzyszenie Sadyba), Henryk Brodowski i rozmówczyni, która pragnęła zachować anonimowość.   

The participants visited Pisz, Mikołajki, Kadzidłowo, Ełk and Ogródek to explore the memory of the German-Polish neighbourhood of over eighty years ago. By telling this audio story, they try to understand the social relations in the area, with its ethnic-national rivalries, before 1945, when Masuria was part of Germany, and after 1945, when it was ceded to Poland and the ethnic composition of much of the population had changed. Who are the Masurians? Can we still see traces of the complicated past in the landscape of a region that is a popular holiday destination? These questions were put by the students to the witnesses of history, local activists and the representatives of the local institutions. 

Produced by: Susana Glaza, Magda Mazurek, Katie Taylor, Miroslav Nechytaylo, Eleanor Domin, Eliška Soukupová, Alexander Jan Kurek, Andrei Lysou with the support of John Beauchamp (FreeRange Productions), Julia Machnowska (ENRS) and Urszula Bijoś (ENRS).

With the contribution of: Michał Misztal (Muzeum Michała Kajki in Ogródek), Dietmar Serafin, Piotr Szatkowski PhD, Rafał Żytyniec PhD i Jakub Knyżewski (Muzeum Historyczne w Ełku), pastor Dariusz Zuber, Karolina Puzio and Katarzyna Jankowska (hydro-polis Foundation), Aneta Karwowska PhD and employees of Muzeum Ziemi Piskiej w Piszu, representatives of the Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen e.V. (German Compatriots' Association), Rafał Kubacki and Marek Łachacz (Stowarzyszenie Sadyba), Henryk Brodowski and an anonymous source. 

The group of students retraced the routes of history across the Baltic Sea, travelling to Helsinki, Finland, and later the 80 km sea passage to Tallinn, Estonia. The journey, which during the Cold War was accessible only to a select few, subject to severe restrictions and scrutiny of border guards, is now a reflection of the transformation of the region and the renewed cooperation between the two countries, which, after all, have so much in common. Through the interviews, students learned the personal stories of those who lived through this period of separation and explored the many physical and symbolic meanings of the border.

Produced by: Anželika Litvinoviča, Gabriel Kołodziejczyk, Maja Wróblewska, Matylda Elson, Mirjami Sipilä, Nikodem Szynol, Oleksandr Tsilyi and Roosa Saikanmäki with the support of Aleksandra Kalinowska (ENRS), Helena Link (ENRS) and Jarek Kociszewski (FreeRange Productions)

With the contribution of: Elena Shevakova, Kaja Kunnas, Kalle Klandorf, Olev Kiirend, Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus, Simon Brunel, Tõnu Pedaru, Heta Hedman (Historians without Borders in Finland) and Marko Poolamets (Estonian Institute of Historical Memory).

Project "In Between?" 2024 is co-funded by European Union.

The series of study visits 'In Between?', initiated in April 2016 by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, draws on from the methodology of oral history. So far, more than 150 young people (under 26 years of age) have participated in eight editions of the project and visited a total of 25 multicultural regions of Europe.

Read more: https://enrs.eu/inbetween

With a population of over half a milion, today’s capital of Lithuania boasts a  700 year history. You may notice it without any effort, looking at one of the monuments standing  on a square next to the cathedral. A massive bronze sculpture of the 14th century Grand Duke Gediminas is placed near a horse. The monarch holds a sword in his left hand and blesses the city with his right hand. During his rule, the area of Lithuania doubled in size. Duke Gediminas, as tourist brochures remind us, created a strong and influential state and extended its power to the East and to the South.  

In late 19th and early 20th century, the modern Lithuanian national movement had no doubt where the capital city of a new state should be established. But after the Grat War, Vilnius was attached to Poland in 1922. It was perceived in Lithuania as occupation. The loss of this city became a collective trauma that deeply affected Lithuanian identity.  

The Lithuanian minority in interwar Vilnius according to censuses held by the Polish authorities represented about 1 per cent of the total population of the city. They were not numerous, but well organized – most of them belonged to the intelligentsia, they had their own theatre, political parties, a hospital, private schools, newspapers, art exhibitions. Leaders of the Lithuanian community belonged to the generation educated in the former Russian empire. In their work, they especially cared for the language.