Background Article From a distant land to my native Ukraine The letters of Hanna Pastukh represent the plight of a young woman who was taken from her native Ukraine in 1943 and forced to work as a laborer in Germany until1945. Through writing letters, she tried to maintain a connection to her home and family.
Background Article Ruthenia quasi est alter orbis "Rus' is almost another world" wrote the Krakow bishop Maciej around 1150. What was the basis of this differentiation? How powerful was it and how did it play out in reality? In search of answers, this article also discusses the dimensions and ambivalences of border demarcations.
