Media information 2025

Which steps of modernisation and transformation can be seen in the history of the GDR and the People's Republic of Poland and to what extent do they provide inspiration for the analysis of current transformation, for example in Ukraine? These questions will be addressed at the annual conference of the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies (VCPU) at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) on Thursday, 22 May and Friday, 23 May. Under the title "Between Hope and Reality. Modernisation and Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe", the conference marks the conclusion of the seven-year research project "Mod-Block-DDR".

Running enthusiasts from the city and region are invited to the ViaRunning charity run on Wednesday, 7 May. The start for this year's four-kilometre run will be given at 6.15 pm at the bridge to Ziegenwerder behind the Gräfin-Dönhoff-Building of the European University Viadrina. The meeting point is the Mensa terrace; the run will cover two laps around the Ziegenwerder island. Afterwards, all participants are invited to celebrate the evening with live music, drinks and a barbecue.

The European University mourns the loss of its former guest researcher Dr Tamila Kyrylova, who tragically passed away on 28 January 2025 in Frankfurt (Oder). Her doctoral supervisor Dr habil. Ievgeniia Voloshchuk, who had hosted her as a guest researcher at the Axel Springer Chair for German-Jewish Literary and Cultural History, Exile and Migration at the Viadrina together with Prof. Dr Kerstin Schoor, remembers the Germanist in an obituary.

On Friday, 10 January, the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) will cease its activities on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). It is thus participating in a joint withdrawal by more than 60 German-speaking universities and research institutions.