In the Footsteps of World War II Memory: Karazin History Students Take Part in the Final Stage of the “Dialogue of Traces” Project in Poland

From 25 to 31 July, the third stage of the German–French–Ukrainian international youth cultural exchange project “Dialogue of Traces” took place in Poland, with students from the School of History at Karazin University participating — the project aimed to explore the experiences of forced labourers during the National Socialist era.

During the visit, Karazin students travelled to Warsaw, Kraków, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland. They visited memorial sites dedicated to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, archaeological excavations at the site of the former insurgents' bunker, the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland and its archives, as well as historic landmarks in Warsaw and Kraków.

Thanks to the long-standing cooperation with Dr Paweł Dobrosielski of the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw, the workshop “The Ukrainian Perspective: World War II and Forced Labour” was held at the University. The workshop for participants from Germany, France, and Ukraine was jointly delivered by Yevhen Zakharchenko, Associate Professor of the Department of History of Ukraine at Karazin University, and Mariia Parkhomenko, researcher at the Chair of Modern and Contemporary History with a specialisation in the History of Eastern Europe at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg.

The visit to Poland marked the third and final stage of the year-long international youth cultural exchange project, following study visits to Germany in October 2025 and France in April 2026. Examining the crimes of totalitarian regimes during the Second World War, particularly forced labour, as well as the culture of remembrance surrounding the tragic events of the twentieth century in Germany, France, and Poland, remains especially relevant in light of the recurrence of history and the lessons of the past that have yet to be fully learned. Unfortunately, Ukraine has once again faced these challenges as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion. Throughout the discussions, participants frequently drew parallels between historical events and contemporary realities. The outcome of the project will be a series of professionally produced podcasts to be published on the Radio Corax portal (Halle, Germany).