May 2011: In cooperation with the University of Łódź we organized a meeting project between students/lecturers and Łódź born witnesses to history. They reported about every day life and the differing cultural realities in the city before, during and after the Second World War.

Their reports will help to better understand and envision how drastic and often horrific the breach of the Second World War was and the consequences it had on this European city. We will look at the histories and destinies of individual people of Lodz who stem from different cultural backgrounds.

Project presentation: 28.2.2012 in Łódź

Screening of film excerpts of meeting sessions, questions round and discussions

PLACE - University of Lodz. Institute of Literature and Culture of Germany, Austria, Switzerland

ul. Sienkiewicza 21, PL-90-508 Łódź

Goethe room, first floor

TIME: 28. Feburary 2012, starting 6 p. m.
Admission is free.

The witnesses (some of them escaped, were expelled or left Lodz during or after the war) are of Polish, Jewish, German or mixed decent.

The project phase in May 2011 was structured as meeting seminars with Lodz witnesses (their meeting with students, lecturers, journalists, listening to their reports and memories, questions and answers), and visits to places in Lodz that are important to the witnesses – biographically or historically or of other symbolic importance to them individually.

Project results will be presented in Lodz on 28. February 2012. Details will be posted here soon.

© Roman Blauth

Our project is embedded in an ongoing and longterm filmic documentary project about the history of Lodz.

Sponsors

The project is being implemented with funds from the following organizations / foundations:

• Stiftung für deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit
• Rainer Bickelmann Stiftung
• Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future"
• European Association for East/West Rapprochement