Displacement, Memory, and Joy: New History Unit publications' presentation

After five months spent working on new features, longreads, podcasts, and videos, History Unit invites you to have a first look at these publications. On October 8, at 5 pm CET, we'll gather to discuss stories about queer people creating, connecting, and finding moments of joy during war and exile.

History is shaped by which stories are remembered and which remain untold. History Unit brings together journalists and activists from Belarus, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine to uncover overlooked queer histories and understand present challenges.

The new publications examine resistance efforts and community organising, both historical and current. They look at queer lives during Soviet times and in the ongoing war in Ukraine, at physical and digital displacement, disinformation campaigns, and solidarity building.

During the presentation, you'll find out how journalists develop these stories, learn about the research process, editorial decisions, and challenges of working with sensitive material. There will be time to ask questions and discuss the work directly with the authors.

Here are the topics and authors of the publications:

• Gay lives during times of persecution in Poland and Germany – Steven Meyer and Jakub Wojtaszczyk for Tagesspiegel

• No safe place: lived realities of refugees between hope, unsafety, and political failure – Lili Somogyi and Eugenia Seleznova for Tagebuch

• Queer people in Ukraine from Soviet times to the present day – Valeriia Shyrokova for NV.ua

• Queer history and personalities of Eastern Europe – Eastern Queerope

• Queer community organising in Poland and Germany – Juri Wasenmüller and Emanuela Lewandowska

• Queer displacement in digital spaces and Russian disinformation – Clara Zink and Selina Hellfritsch

• Queer refugees in Poland and Germany and “safe countries of origin” – Helena Weise

The presentation will take place online on October 8, 2025, at 5 pm CET. Working language: English.

To join the session, register here

The project is funded by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) as part of the Education Agenda on NS-Injustice.