Research in the portal

Would you like to organize projects that involve cross-border encounters or a summer school related to German cultural heritage in Eastern Europe? With a special funding program, the BKM supports innovative formats that have particular appeal for younger people.

Starting in January 1945, large numbers of Transylvanian Saxons were deported to the Soviet Union to do forced labor. The exhibition showcases personal objects, photographs and documents that shed light on this central chapter of the recent history of Transylvanian Saxons.

Statement of Copernico editorial staff on the war in Ukraine with some references where you can get information about background of the war.

Web documentary about the German Drama Theater in Temirtau and the Germans in the Soviet Union between staying and leaving.

On November 18, 1944, nine-year-old Elsa Beck flees the Hungarian village of Máriakéménd with her mother and sister. Elsa's mother allows her to take with her what she can carry herself. Elsa decides to take her school suitcase. Today, this is held in the Danube Swabian Central Museum in Ulm.

What role did the Communist Youth League play in the politicization of German youth? What methods were used to influence the young people?

What roles did picture postcards play in the nationality struggle of the late 19th century? How were the different ethnic groups portrayed? What did the (self)-images of the crown land, which together with Galicia was considered the poorhouse of Cisleithania, look like? These and other questions form the basis of the monographic project of the Bukovina Institute.

The First World War was an important caesura in the history of the province of West Prussia. The cornerstones negotiated in the Treaty of Versailles ended the integration of West Prussia into Prussian territory and incorporated the region into the newly founded Polish Second Republic. This led to major changes in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of different origins, especially those already living and rooted there.

2024 marks the 300th anniversary of the birthday of Immanuel Kant, the philosopher from Königsberg. In preparation for the Year of Kant 2024, the BKGE is coordinating and organizing numerous activities around the topic of Immanuel Kant

What do a knight of the Teutonic Order, the Song of the Nibelungs and Hermann the Cheruscan have in common? They were all intended to legitimize the founding of the German Empire in 1871, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. This was a "unification from above" for which Prussia waged three "wars of unification". The ostensibly common cultural heritage of "Germanness" in the Middle Ages was one of the elements that was supposed to make it easier for citizens from, say, Bavaria, Hesse, Prussia and Saxony to become "Germans". Another element was the national demarcation of the Empire from its neighbors, especially France, which had been defeated in 1813/15 and 1871.

In March 2015, a military case from the First World War was donated to the Transylvanian Museum. It accompanied Dr. Wilhelm Hager during World War I to the southern front – to Bosnia and the Isonzo, and then to the eastern front, to Galicia, Bukovina, Bessarabia and, finally, in 1918 to South Tyrol. Also as a Romanian citizen after 1918, Dr. Hager once again had to fight, this time on the side of the Romanian army. In 1919-1920 he took part in the campaign on the Tisza River as a medical officer of the reserve (medic cǎpitan).

In the “Eichendorff Hall” of Haus Schlesien in Königswinter there is a Steinway grand piano made of lemon wood. It a noteworthy museum object not only because the famous Steinway & Sons lettering is emblazoned on it, but also, and above all, because it was owned by Gerhart Hauptmann, the 1912 Nobel Prize winner for literature.

Among the numerous pieces of traditional costume at the Transylvanian Museum in Gundelsheim is one whose change of ownership and the resulting journey render it a fitting symbol of the collective fate of entire families, indeed entire Saxon village communities from northern Transylvania in the 20th century.

He is considered the ancestor of the Berlin Philharmonic: Benjamin Bilse, born in Liegnitz, Silesia, was one of the most famous conductors of the 2nd half of the 19th century.

This exhibition, organized by the Cultural Office for West Prussia, Poznan Land and Central Poland, is devoted to a common but very special object: the spoon. The act of sitting and eating together at the same table embodies a sense of peace and belonging. Unique, and yet ubiquitous across all cultures, spoons are often passed down from generation to generation.

Many museum objects hold secrets: Not infrequently, their origin and maker, their age, or their various owners are hardly known, if at all. Often, one has to rely on assumptions and guesses. A toolbox from present-day Kazakhstan, however, is a bearer of secrets in more ways than one.

Abraham Petrovič Hannibal (circa 1696-1781) was a central figure during the early stages of the African Diaspora in Russia. He was one of the first Russian Enlightenment thinkers and the great-grandfather of the most important poet and creator of the modern Russian language, Alexander Pushkin.

German, Polish, Silesian, European? Identity and memory are complex, constantly changing and not always easy to put into words. So it’s just as well that they become the focus of attention for one week as part of "Academia Silesia" at the HAUS SCHLESIEN!

Would you like to expand existing knowledge about German culture and history in Eastern Europe through new research findings and present your work in a university teaching context? Within the framework of its Academic Support Program, the BKM promotes scientific research projects ("Projects" module) and supports the qualification of young academics ("Junior Professorships" module).

The Adalbert Stifter Association cultivates and promotes German-Czech dialogue. It keeps the German-Bohemian cultural heritage alive and contributes to a better knowledge of the common culture and its European contexts.