Europa stärken! Was kann uns Kreisau/Krzyżowa lehren?

A lecture by Dr. habil. Robert Żurek

The project of a united Europe has brought peace and prosperity to the continent's once warring nations for decades. For some time now, however, this successful project has been faltering and is often called into question.

The big story took place in the small Silesian village of Kreisau/Krzyżowa. This is where the German resistance group "Kreisau Circle" met during the Second World War and forged plans for a united Europe. The reconciliation mass took place here in 1989, a symbolic act of German-Polish rapprochement. In 1990, German and Polish civil society created a place of encounter and dialog here. To what extent can the past and present of Kreisau inspire us to strengthen Europe and overcome the challenges facing our democracy?

Dr. habil. Robert Żurek studied history and Catholic theology. His academic interests focus on German-Polish relations in the 20th century, in particular the reconciliation process after the Second World War. Żurek was deputy director of the Center for Historical Research Berlin of the Polish Academy of Sciences and director of the Wrocław branch of the Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance). Since 2016, he has been Managing Director of the Kreisau Foundation for European Understanding.

In cooperation with "Die AnStifter" and dpg Deutsch-polnische Gesellschaft Landesverband Baden-Württemberg

Accompanying program of the exhibition "A Gentleman on a Silesian Journey. The letters of John Quincy Adams"