Media attention to Ukraine contrasts with fragmentary knowledge and a view of the country and its history influenced by Russian propaganda. Instead of depicting Ukrainian society in its complexity, the focus is often narrowed to narratives about nationalism. In the current situation, this sometimes leads to Ukraine being perceived neither in its quality as a democratic society nor as an independent subject in the context of international politics.
What are the historical reasons for the gaps in the German perception of Ukraine? How can we eliminate them in the long term? Can we observe a paradigm shift in the perception of Ukraine in Germany under the keyword "Zeitenwende"?
We discuss these and other questions with our guests:
Bozhena Kozakevych is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Chair of Entangled History of Ukraine at the European University Viadrina. Previously, she worked as a project manager in the project "Preserving Memory" at the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
Lilia Usik has been a member of the CDU parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives for constituency 6, Berlin-Lichtenberg, since March 2023. In the House of Representatives, she is a member of the presidium and youth policy spokesperson for her parliamentary group.
Moderator: Nataliya Pryhornytska, political scientist, activist and co-founder of Open Platform e.V. and the Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations.
Episode #14 of the podcasts UkraineMEMO is also available at:
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With its podcast "UkraineMEMO: Interviews, Analysis, Policy Advice", IEP presents new perspectives on Ukraine. With guests from Germany and Ukraine, Ljudmyla Melnyk and Nataliya Pryhornytska discuss recent developments in the areas of Ukrainian politics, economy and society and thus provide an insight into events on the ground that are moving the country. Ukraine's relationship with Germany and the EU is always kept in mind.
UkraineMEMO podcast is produced as part of the "UkraineForward: amplifying analysis” project funded by the MATRA Programme supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine, and implemented by Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) with its partners. The opinions expressed are those of the podcast host and guests only and should not be considered as reflecting the position of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands or IWPR.
The first nine episodes of the podcast UkraineMEMO: Interviews, Analysis, Policy Advice were produced as part of the project "German-Ukrainian Researchers Network" (GURN, 2019-2022) and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
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