Studies in Contemporary History
Reconsidering the Cold War historiographys focus on high politics, conflict and confrontation, this series encourages the development of new research that explores ties and similarities transcending the political divide in Europe. It also welcomes new approaches to the history of Central and East European societies under dictatorships: approaches which shed light on individual and collective agency and show high politics as only one of several factors of change.
Research in contemporary history still often mentally maps Europe as divided into a West and an East. This overemphasizes barriers between people who often shared similar values and tastes, practices and technologies, between interrelated social phenomena or just neighboring regions. In a similar way, narratives of Central and Eastern Europe often tend to reflect a simplistic vision centered on the conflict between the regime and society. This overemphasizes the role of crude domination and hinders understanding of the reproduction, evolution and normalization of European communist regimes up to 1989.
We seek contributions that employ approaches from history, especially those which integrate insights gained from neighboring disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, political science, or cultural and gender studies. Discussions of comparative and transnational perspectives are particularly welcome.
The series was formerly known as Warsaw Studies in Contemporary History .
Titles
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Political Myths in History Textbooks
War Images of the Falange in Spain (1939–1951) and the Polish Workers’ Party in Poland (1945–1956)Volume 11©2025 Monographs 352 Pages -
Remnants of Wehrmacht Soldiers
Burial and Commemoration Practices of German Soldiers of the Second World War in Russia and Europe, 1941 – 2023Volume 10©2024 Monographs 268 Pages -
Welfare Policies in Switzerland and Italy
Institutions, Motherhood, Family and Work in the 19th and 20th CenturiesVolume 9©2021 Edited Collection 170 Pages -
Reading Monuments
A Comparative Study of Monuments in Poznań and Strasbourg from the Nineteenth and Twentieth CenturiesVolume 8©2020 Monographs 216 Pages -
Oral History and the War
The Nazi Concentration Camp Experience in a Biographical-Narrative PerspectiveVolume 7©2019 Monographs 442 Pages -
Borderland Studies Meets Child Studies
A European EncounterVolume 6©2017 Edited Collection 196 Pages -
Veterans, Victims, and Memory
The Politics of the Second World War in Communist PolandVolume 4©2016 Monographs 259 Pages