Heritage of War 1914–1918
PI: Kamil Ruszała
“Heritage of War 1914–1918” Research Network strives to intensify theoretical and practical research on WWI heritage in Europe on an international scale by debating it in transnational perspective, considering the European continent and its WWI heritage. Thus it realizes proposes several objectives, namely:
- To examine WWI heritage (primarily war memorials, graves, and cemeteries, but also military churches and chapels, artefacts, exhibits, outdoor museums or intangible heritage, etc.) on a comparative scale, analysing how the idea of creating memorials to fallen soldiers, and war-related historical events and figures functioned in Europe, taking into account both macro- and microscales (case studies).
- To integrate individual experts and infrastructures dealing with the heritage of the war, such as academic institutes, research units, museums, foundations, NGOs, etc. (Research2Research).
- To prepare a report on the state of World War I heritage and provide further perspectives on the research material (for example, attempting to map heritage).
- To try to engage a wider non-academic audience on the presence of, and challenges to, WWI heritage (Research2Society).
- To prepare activities to nominate WW1 heritage to European Heritage Label or Cultural Routes of Council of Europe or UNESCO lists.
- To cooperate with foreign non-academic institutions, i.e. In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper/Ypres (Belgium) or European Walk of Peace in Kobarida (Slovenia) and to develop the project of mapping the WW1 heritage (World War One Sites – The NETWORLD Database: ww1sites.eu)
The Heritage of War 1914–1918 research network will be made up of an interdisciplinary team of experts dealing with the heritage of the First World War, thus involving, integrating, and stimulating debate among researchers affiliated with various research centres around the world, and establishing a platform in Krakow for the exchange of ideas, and meetings of researchers at various levels (from PhD Students and PostDocs to experienced researchers), thus presenting the Jagiellonian University as a place open to foreign visitors and a moderator of international dialogue and debates on topical issues through the prism of past experiences, including the legacy of World War I as an example. The group's activities correspond to the four packages (Work Packages, hereafter abbr. WP) presented below:
- WP 1: Military cemeteries and monuments in Europe 1914–1918 in a comparative perspective (conference in Kraków, summarized by a collective research monograph or special issue).
- WP 2: Workshop in a Field in Lesser Poland (Małopolska): WWI heritage and its protection in practice.
- WP 3: Debate (roundtable) about WWI heritage as a challenge (methodological, theoretical, practical contributions as to how to protect/narrate/promote/preserve/restore WWI heritage).
- WP 4: Conference/debate with Hyde Park discussion about WWI heritage in contemporary Poland (summarised with a potential report/documentation)
So far, members of the research group have participated in international conferences and study visits to partner institutions in Belgium, Austria, and Slovenia. Additionally, the group organized an international scientific conference titled "Commemoration and Heritage: The First World War Memorials and Cemeteries" (June 1-2, 2023), as well as field workshops exploring the legacy of World War I (June 3, 2023), and a collective monograph titled "Architectures of Commemoration: First World War Monuments and Cemeteries in Europe" for the Brill publishing house is being prepared. The monograph is the result of the conference held in Krakow in June 2023. Additionally, there are plans to publish a historical and documentary publication on cemeteries from World War I based on archival materials, as well as a platform for social mapping of the legacy of World War I within the current borders of Poland.
Contact: kamil.ruszala@uj.edu.pl