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Mapping Communism: Space and Memory in Poland, Ukraine, and East Germany

Fri, November 21, 3:30 to 5:15pm EST (3:30 to 5:15pm EST), -

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel investigates the ways in which socialist states shaped both physical and imagined geographies, contributing to processes of memory-making and ideological reinforcement. By examining travel policies, guidebooks, and personal experiences, the panel explores how state socialist regimes in Poland, Ukraine, and East Germany sought to map, claim, and narrate space through infrastructure, mobility, and cultural representation. The papers analyze how these efforts interacted with existing historical legacies and how they continue to inform contemporary memory and identity in these regions.

Iuliia Skubytska examines the Soviet transformation of Crimea into a controlled leisure space and ideological showcase, demonstrating how tourism policies reinforced its integration into a broader Russian imperial tradition—an interpretation with lasting geopolitical significance. Natalie Cornett explores how officials in the GDR and PRL used the figure of Rosa Luxemburg to construct a shared revolutionary heritage, highlighting both the strategic deployment of history and the agency of individuals in shaping state narratives. Stefanie Eisenhuth analyzes how East and West German travel guides framed the GDR for Western tourists, revealing how state narratives and external perceptions co-produced images of East Germany as the socialist "other." Together, these papers demonstrate how socialist regimes actively shaped spatial imaginaries, reinforcing ideological claims that continue to shape historical memory.

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