Projekt

Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine, with more than 1.8 million inhabitants on the eve of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Founded in the 17th century, Kharkiv emerged as the industrial, scientific, and cultural center of eastern Ukraine. Since the war began, the city has suffered enormous losses: both military and civilian facilities, including scientific, educational, and cultural institutions, were destroyed. Despite these, Kharkiv has remained a significant hub of academic research and civil society, even as the current war continues to shape its future. To enhance research on the history of Kharkiv and share the findings with a broad audience, the Department of Public History at FernUniversität in Hagen organized a workshop in Berlin. The event brought together 20 researchers representing academic institutions from Germany, Ukraine, the UK and Italy. During the event, the participants explored the impact of the ongoing war on Kharkiv’s history and identity. Discussions covered the destruction and transformation of the city’s urban space, including the fate of its architectural monuments, historical and contemporary debates on Kharkiv’s public space and memory. The scholars examined new perspectives on Kharkiv’s 20th-century cultural history, oral testimonies of war, and the role of propaganda in shaping historical narratives. At the public debate, which gathered about 100 guests, Prof. Dr. Gelinada Grinchenko, Prof. Dr. Tanja Penter, and Dr. Yevhen Zakharchenko, moderated by Prof. Dr. Felix Ackermann, focused on how the present war has reshaped the work of historians and the impact of Russia’s ongoing war on the perception of Kharkiv’s urban history.