The title “Infrastructures of Cultural Memory” refers to two interlinked projects, of which both are externally funded and being carried out by larger teams. The first is concerned with seemingly disregarded aspects of exhibitions that focus on the Second World War and the Holocaust – including structural elements, environmental factors and financing structures. These external factors have an impact on the design and perception of the exhibitions and thus on their potential for cultural memory. While museum and memory studies have so far focused on political and semantic dimensions, the infrastructural aspects have remained overwhelmingly within the purview of curators and practitioners . The project therefore aims to find out how infrastructures, i.e. connected  objects and associated practices, affect the memory of War and Holocaust in the the 20th century.

Similar questions provide a point of departure for the second project, which deals with memorials for Holocaust mass graves. An interdisciplinary group of researchers from the fields of history, archaeology, sociology, dendrology, cartography, and other disciplines are investigating the burial sites of Jewish victims who were not deported to extermination camps but were instead shot near their homes in current southeast Poland. Here too, the infrastructures of memory are essential for understanding the killing sites. Why were some mass graves marked as memorials and others not? Ostensibly, these decisions were not only influenced by political agendas , but also by the availability of building materials or the natural environment of the respective sites. Where did the stone for the memorial plaques come from and who transported it there? The answers to these as well as similar questions shed new light on the complex remembrance practices in a geographically peripheral region that has not previously been at the center of Holocaust research.

The research project is being conducted within the framework of the international project hosted by the German Historical Institute Warsaw and the University of Łódź “Infrastructures of Memory. Actants of Globalisation and their Impact on German and Polish Memory Culture”.The project examines how factors other than content, design, and educational goals influence the creation and maintenance of exhibitions about the Second World War and the Holocaust in Poland and Germany. Such “non-human” factors and circumstances include, for instance, sustainability standards, the use of new technologies, or legal regulations. This study thus addresses the often overlooked topic of the materiality of commemorative practices, and  (it?)   and contextualizes its role in current debates on memory culture in Poland and Germany.The novelty of the project lays in the way it examines the interconnection between curatorial concepts and historical politics on one hand, and external factors  on the other, with special attention being devoted to the interplay between materiality and non-physical aspects, as well as discrepancies between curatorial visions and the actual practical work involved in communicating information and concepts to the public. . Examples of this include the adaptation of traveling exhibitions to local contexts, the preparation of tours for international audiences, and implementation of national “memory laws” (Nikolay Koposov). The project is based on a complex, interdisciplinary methodology that draws on,  anthropology, organizational sociology, museology, and social history, among other approaches. It makes an innovative contribution to social science research as well as to the ongoing and pressing debate on memory culture.

The research project focuses on the management and appropriation processes of Jewish cultural heritage in Poland, with a particular emphasis on the role of legal frameworks and political transformations after 1989. The central thesis is that the legal and political changes during Poland’s post-socialist transition continue to shape how Jewish institutions, communities, and other actors manage former synagogues and other Jewish heritage sites nowadays. The project argues that the laws established after the 1990s define the scope of action available to Jewish and non-Jewish, national and transnational actors at local, national, and international levels.

At the core of the study are the legal aspects of ownership and monument protection, especially the 1997 Act regulating the relationship between the Polish state and Jewish religious communities, as well as ongoing restitution processes of Jewish properties. These legal frameworks often generate conflicts among stakeholders concerning the appropriate restoration, reuse, and preservation of former synagogues. The project pays special attention to the northern and western regions of Poland, former German territories incorporated after World War II, where Jewish heritage is sometimes marginalized, and surely treated differently than in the “core” Polish regions.

Key research questions include: how the discourse on Jewish heritage interacted with political, economic, and cultural transformations; which actors and networks influenced post-1989 legislation; why the restitution debate shifted from property issues to cultural heritage anchoring in national identity; how international monument preservation standards affect local practices; and what conflicts and differing interpretations persist nearly 30 years after the relevant laws were enacted.

Methodologically, the project combines monument protection theory, political, legal, and transformation history, as well as Critical Heritage Studies. It employs document and archival analysis, interviews with synagogue owners and users, and case studies to link macro-level legal and political contexts with micro-level local practices and actors. The project also engages in dialogue with practitioners and institutions to develop actionable models for the future revitalization and protection of Jewish heritage in Poland and the broader region.

This project examines how Polish–German foreign policy utilized History  between 1918 and 1939. This phenomenon is referred to as foreign history politics, understood as “the state's effort to promote abroad the desired image of its own history or a particular aspect of its history” (Jan Rydel). The term propaganda, which was viewed positively in some countries at the time, was used for this in Poland.  

In addition to the activities of state actors such as the Foreign Ministry, the Polish embassy in Berlin and the consulates, this project examines the work of selected contemporary scientific institutes. Press articles, state-sponsored historical exhibitions, film screenings and historians' congresses are analyzed. Moreover, selected publications as well as speeches by Polish politicians and diplomats in Germany are used.

The following research questions will be addressed as part of the project: What were the guidelines for foreign history politics towards Germany? Were they the same or at least similar for all institutions that dealt with German issues? Was there a coherent idea of Polish history and what image of Poland was desired? One of the key questions is whether specific Polish guidelines were issued for individual regions in Germany. The investigation into the internal discussions in the Polish Foreign Ministry shows that cultural and historical arguments were used more frequently regarding Germany than any other of Poland’s neighboring states. 

Previous research has focused primarily on examining German propaganda. An analysis of the use of history within Polish diplomatic relations with Germany constitutes a largely unaddressed research gap. The project will not only address this important issue, but will make it possible to compare the current mechanisms of historical diplomacy with their historical predecessors.