Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe (born 1979 in

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: , full form: , , ) is an industrial city put under direct government rule in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It lies in the western part of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of around 2 m ...

, Poland as Grzegorz Rossoliński) is a German–Polish historian based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, associated with the Friedrich Meinecke Institute of the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

. He specializes in the history of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and East-Central Europe, fascism, nationalism, the

history of antisemitism The history of antisemitism, defined as hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group, goes back many centuries, being called "the longest hatred". Jerome Chanes identifies six stages in the historical developmen ...

, the

history of the Soviet Union The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

, and the

politics of memory The politics of memory refers to how societies construct, contest, and institutionalize collective memories of historical events. Often this practice should serve political, social, or ideological purpose. As a field of study, memory politics seek ...

Career

Rossoliński-Liebe studied cultural history and East European history at the

European University Viadrina European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) () is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the Oder River, which marks the border between Germany ...

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

from 1999 to 2005. He worked on his doctoral dissertation about

Stepan Bandera Stepan Andriyovych Bandera (, ; ; 1 January 1909 – 15 October 1959) was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the radical militant wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the OUN-B. Bandera was born in Austria-Hungary, in Galicia (Eas ...

and the

Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN; ) was a Ukrainian nationalist organization established on February 2, 1929 in Vienna, uniting the Ukrainian Military Organization with smaller, mainly youth, radical nationalist right-wing groups. ...

at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

and the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

from 2007, and defended his PhD at the

in June 2012. Between 2012 and 2014, he worked on a post-doctoral project at the

on the Ukrainian diasporic memory of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He also worked as a research assistant at the Foundation

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (, also known as the Holocaust Memorial German: ''Holocaust-Mahnmal''), is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany, designed by architect Peter Eisenman an ...

and at the

Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) is a research centre dedicated to the research and documentation of and education on all aspects of antisemitism, racism and the Holocaust, including its emergence and aftermath. It was ...

. He is the author of ''Stepan Bandera: The Life and Afterlife of a Ukrainian Nationalist. Fascism, Genocide, and Cult'', a scholarly biography of Ukrainian nationalist leader

, and an in-depth study of his political cult. From 2014 to 2018, Rossoliński-Liebe investigated the German-Polish collaboration in World War II. During this time, he was a Saul Kagan Fellow of the

Claims Conference The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims Conference, represents the world's Jews in negotiating for compensation and restitution for victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs. According to Section 2(1)(3) of the Prop ...

and a fellow of the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

, the

Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation was established by Harry Guggenheim to support research on violence, aggression, and dominance. The foundation writes: "He was convinced that solid, thoughtful, scholarly and scientific research, experimentati ...

, the

Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah is a foundation that was formed in 2000, with recovered money from the property taken from French Jews during World War II. Simone Veil, a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp who later became the first d ...

, the German Historical Institute Warsaw and the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

International Institute for Holocaust Research.

Political reactions

Rossoliński-Liebe was invited in late February and early March 2012 by the

Heinrich Böll Foundation The Heinrich Böll Foundation (German language, German: ''Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Eingetragener Verein, e.V.''; Abbreviation: HBS) is a German legally independent political foundation. Affiliated with Alliance '90/The Greens, Alliance 90/The Gr ...

, the

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD; ), founded in 1925, is a joint organization of German universities and student bodies to foster their international relations. Since 1 January 2020, the president has been Joybrato Mukherjee. Organisa ...

, and the German embassy in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, to deliver six lectures about Bandera in three Ukrainian cities. The lectures were scheduled to take place in February and March 2012 in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

and

. The organizers, however, were unable to find a suitable venue in Lviv, and also, three of the four lectures in

and Kyiv were canceled a few hours prior to the event. The only lecture took place in the German embassy in Kyiv, under the protection of police. In front of the building, approximately one hundred protesters, including members of the radical-right

Svoboda party The All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (), commonly known as V.O. Svoboda or simply Svoboda, political party in Ukraine. It has been led by Oleh Tyahnybok since 2004. Its predecessor, the Social-National Party of Ukraine (SNPU) formed and officiall ...

, tried to convince a few hundred interested students, scholars, and ordinary Ukrainians not to attend the presentation, claiming that Rossoliński-Liebe was "Joseph Goebbels' grandchild" and a "liberal fascist from Berlin." In response to the harassment and threats made towards him during his lecture trip in Ukraine, the online petition "For Freedom of Speech and Expression in Ukraine" was signed by 97 persons, including scholar Delphine Bechtel.

Publications

Books and Papers

* * * ''Der polnisch-ukrainische Konflikt im Historikerdiskurs: Perspektiven, Interpretationen und Aufarbeitung.'' Wien: New Academic Press, 2017, . * * ''Stepan Bandera: The Life and Afterlife of a Ukrainian Nationalist. Fascism, Genocide, and Cult.'' Stuttgart: Ibidem Press: Stuttgart 2014, . (Reviewed by Delphine Bechtel)

Books edited

* With Arnd Bauerkämper: ''Fascism without Borders. Transnational Connections and Cooperation between Movements and Regimes in Europe 1918 to 1945.'' Oxford: Berghahn 2017, . * With Regina Fritz und Jana Starek: ''Alma mater antisemitica. Akademisches Milieu, Juden und Antisemitismus an den Universitäten Europas zwischen 1918 und 1939.'' Wien: New Academic Press, 2016, .

Articles

*
"The Genocidal Violence of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army"
In: Jacob, Frank; Todzi, Kim Sebastian, eds. (2023 (eds.): Genocidal Violence: Concepts, Forms, Impact. Oldenbourgh: De Gruyter. . . * * * * * * * * * * * * . * * * * * * *

References

External links

at the Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut of the

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

Rossoliński-Liebe
on Academia.edu
Rossoliński-Liebe
on Clio-Online
Rossoliński-Liebe
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossolinski-Liebe, Grzegorz Living people 1979 births 21st-century German historians 21st-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers German male non-fiction writers German historians of the Holocaust Historians of Eastern Europe European University Viadrina alumni University of Hamburg alumni Academic staff of the Free University of Berlin Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Europe