Edited by Thomas M.Bohn
The Republic of Belarus - located between Poland and Russia, Lithuania and the Ukraine - has an unusual position on Europe’s political map. It is a transitional region between East and West which in the course of its history witnessed a succession of rulers and regimes. As part of Kievan Rus’, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Commonwealth of Poland, the Russian Empire, the Second Polish Republic, and the Soviet Union, the region underwent repeated attempts at its Polonization and Russification. Therefore, the series is devoted to culturally situating this people, including its Jewish diaspora over centuries. Apart from that, it takes a special interest in shedding light on the fate of individuals whose lives were strongly influenced by catastrophes like the Second World War and by historical breaks like the transition from an agrarian country to an industrial state.