In July 2017 young generation of Europeans explored history of Polish-Lithuanian borderland and 7 other European regions. As a part of In Between? project, launched and organised by European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, students visited Sejny and Krasnogruda in Poland, as well as Vilnus, Keturiasdešimt Totorių, Trakai and Panierai in Lithuania.

Participants were given a unique opportunity to gain theoretical and practical experience in documenting oral stories. Short films made by the students are now available online.

The project was open to all candidates age 18-25, including students and freelancers representing various areas of interest such as history, cultural anthropology, sociology and audiovisual arts.. After the recruitment process they took part in interdisciplinary workshops and study visits to ..

Polish-Lithuanian borderland, Vojvodina (Serbia), Berlin, Mostar (Bosnia and Hercegovina), Prespa lakes region (Macedonian-Albanian-Greek borderland), Albanian-Montenegrin borderland, Hungarian-Romanian borderland and Catalan cross-border region. Overall, in 2017, 46 students from 18 countries conducted and documented 76 interviews in 16 languages. Recollections, sound and video recordings, photographs, letters as well as scanned documents and other items reflecting the daily life of the communities constituted a basis for building accounts of the students’ travel that was be shared with historical institutions and local archives, including the National Digital Archive and the Virtual Shtetl (Museum of the History of Polish Jews). The study visits were organised in collaboration with 39 institutions representing 13 countries. Local partners in Polish-Lithuanian borderland were: Lithuanian House in Sejny, “Pogranicze” Foundation in Sejny, Polish Institute in Vilnius, Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum.

On the basis of collected materials the students made short films in collaboration with National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute. These films, after being screened in December 2017 in the Topography of Terror Documentation Centre in Berlin, are available online on the ENRS YouTube channel.

More information about the project: http://www.enrs.eu/inbetween

Movies about borderland you can see here:

The project in 2017 was co-funded by the International Visegrad Fund.

European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS) is an international initiative focusing on research, documentation and dissemination of knowledge of Europe's 20th-century history and ways that it is commemorated with special focus on periods of dictatorships, war, and public opposition to captivity.

In Between