Eighty years ago today, the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces came into effect. For Germany, May 8 is an important day of remembrance, which is also understood as Liberation Day. Poland's perspective on this date, however, is less clear-cut. On the one hand, Germany's surrender marked the definitive end of Nazi tyranny, but on the other hand, Poland found itself under Soviet rule for the next several decades. This not only resulted in enormous border and population shifts and a lack of state sovereignty. The new rulers based their regime on violence, to which thousands upon thousands of Polish citizens fell victim.

At the German Historical Institute Warsaw, we deal extensively with the topics of “power,” “oppression,” and “tyranny.” We analyze forms, practices, and manifestations of violence by state and non-state actors.

An important aspect of the history of violence is its impact on how we remember the past today. In our research focus “Culture of Remembrance,” we explore how such traumatic experiences of violence as World War II and the German occupation have shaped collective memory in East Central European societies and how this affects the understanding of history.

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On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the GHI Warsaw dedicated its Tuesday lecture series to the theme 1944/1945: The End of the War in East-Central Europe. In cooperation with the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk, renowned historians presented their latest research. The international guests focused not only on the historical events, but also on the aftermath of the war experiences within today's societies. Recordings of the lectures are now available on our YouTube channel:

• Prof. Rafał Wnuk: Nieoczywisty koniec wojny. Podziemie antykomunistyczne w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej (Polish with English subtitles)
• Prof. Benjamin Lahusen: The administration of Normality. German Law and German Society, 1943-1948 (in English)
• Prof. Elizabeth Harvey: Domesticating conquest: German womenand the Nazi empire from expansion to defeat (in English)
• Prof. Bastiaan Willems: Life and Death in East Prussia, 1944-1945 (in English)

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From October 18, 2024, to February 9, 2025, CK Zamek in Poznań presented the exhibition “Allmachtsphantasien. Architektur und Alltag unter deutscher Besatzung” (Delusions of Omnipotence: Architecture and Everyday Life under German Occupation), which was developed in collaboration with our colleagues Dr. Annika Wienert and Dr. Christhardt Henschel. The catalog is available here.

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The Max Weber Foundation and its globally active institutes accompany the discourse on remembrance policy regarding World War II from an academic perspective. On the thematic portal “The Ends of War,” you will find event announcements, project information, podcasts, and publications that highlight different perspectives and chronologies of the war's outcome.

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The Max Weber Foundation has released a three-part podcast series on the aftermath of World War II. In it, scholars from the Max Weber Foundation shed light on various regional aspects of the end of World War II: What flight and migration movements shaped the postwar period? How is the end of the war remembered in Egypt or Japan? And what convoluted paths did Jewish ritual objects take during and after the war?

Our director, Prof. Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska, talks about forgotten places of the Holocaust and stolen Jewish ritual objects in episode one. She explains how places of mass shootings are commemorated in Poland today and what role Jewish ritual objects play in cultural heritage.

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We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you of our upcoming event: Today, May 8, 2025, we welcome Polish author Prof. Karolina Ćwiek-Rogalska (“Ziemie. Historie odzyskiwania i utraty”) to our library. This event will also focus on one of the consequences of the war, namely the settlement of the western and northern territories of Poland after 1945 and how to deal with the traces and legacies left behind by their former German inhabitants. The discussion will take place as part of the event series “Biblioteka NIH - tu się rozmawia” (NIH Library - this is where people talk). We cordially invite you to join the discussion.