"The Polish January Uprising of 1863" and its "history of entanglement and perception" is the topic of an international historians' conference with participants from seven countries. It is being organised by the Department of Eastern European History at the University of Oldenburg and will take place from 31 March to 3 April at the Oldenburg Cultural Centre PFL (Peterstr. 3).
The January Uprising of 1863, which was primarily directed against the Russian partitioning power, plays a major role in Poland's culture of remembrance. However, despite the pan-European significance of the uprising, there is a significant gap in German and Western European historiography: "Not only was it the longest of the numerous Polish uprisings in the long 19th century, it also took place in a key decade of European nation state formation and constitutional development," explains Prof Dr Hans Henning Hahn, Oldenburg historian and head of the Department of Eastern European History. The international conference is dedicated to its consequences and significance for both Polish and European history.
The intertwined character and contemporary and later perceptions of the uprising are at the centre of the four-day event. The conference is divided into seven sections, in which researchers from seven European countries will examine the causes, dimensions and consequences of the uprising, analyse international perceptions and the European impact, and discuss the Polish culture of remembrance. A panel discussion entitled "To strike or not to strike?" will take place on Wednesday at 6.00 pm at the PFL. Chaired by Hahn, historians from Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland will discuss strategies of national movements between the claim to independence and the challenge of modernisation. On Monday evening, 31 March at 8 p.m., the Czech historian Prof. Dr Miloš Řezníko will address the question of "Nation-building through failed uprisings?" in his public lecture in Oldenburg Castle (lecture hall).
The conference language is German. Admission to the lecture in Oldenburg Castle is free.