World War II was a traumatic experience for millions of Soviet citizens. Some of them remained under the Nazi occupation and witnessed violence on an enormous scale. Others were sent to Germany as forced laborers and experienced various forms of deprivation. Millions of Red Army soldiers were captured as prisoners of war, more than half of whom died as a result of the intolerable conditions in the POW camps. After the war, survivors returned to life in peacetime yet under the suspicion of the Soviet state and faced many problems related to integration into postwar society. Many victimized groups of Soviet citizens had the opportunity to share their stories during and immediately after the war. However, with time certain stories became taboo, since they did not fit into the main state narrative of “peaceful Soviet citizens” as uniform “victims of the fascists.” The official state-controlled narrative gradually eliminated these tales from public discourse. Scholars began to research these stories and incorporate them into a broader history of World War II only after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yet, this process still remains rather controversial in various former Soviet republics.

This conference aims to discuss how the traumatic wartime experiences of the Soviet people were collected and interpreted by the state. What were the spaces in which people were able to recount traumatic experiences that were suppressed in Soviet public discourse? How have newly declassified archival sources changed the knowledge about the wartime experience of various victimized groups of Soviet citizens? How did the Soviet government respond to information that was rather marginal to the construction of a victorious history of the war? How are the issues that were taboo during the Soviet period currently being discussed in the former Soviet republics? How does the current political context influence the interpretation of these traumatic experiences?

Particularly welcome topics include (but are not limited to):
- The types and variety of official sources and ego documents in reconstructing (post)war Soviet society
- Struggles with wartime experience in life during peacetime: adaptations of former Eastern forced labor workers, Soviet POWs, Holocaust survivors, citizens who lived under the Nazi occupation, or Nazi auxiliaries in the postwar Soviet Union
- Experiences of sexual violence during the Nazi occupation that remained untold in (post)war Soviet society
- Social problems of creating families for former (female) soldiers and women with children born during the Nazi occupation
- The economic aspects of returning home
- Postwar antisemitism towards Holocaust survivors in the Soviet Union
- The place of different groups of Nazi victims (Holocaust survivors, Roma population, people with disabilities, Jehovah's Witnesses) in postwar Soviet society
- The everyday life of deported nations during late Stalinism
- Former “heroes”: Crimes committed by Red Army soldiers during the war
- Purges of party members and proof of loyalty to the Soviet state on the part of the citizens who remained under Nazi occupation

The conference brings together scholars working on the history of the Soviet Union during and after World War II. We welcome participants at all career stages, particularly (but not exclusively) from the fields of history, cultural anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies, Eastern European studies, Slavic studies, literary studies, social sciences, law, and related disciplines. The conference will result in the publication of a scholarly volume and/or journal special issue.

Proposals should be submitted in English and include an abstract of up to 500 words along with a CV (2 pages maximum including a list of the most important publications) as separate PDF files by December 15, 2024. Please submit your application at https://forms.gle/GdUktPoLXm37UtP16. Applicants will be notified by January 31, 2025. Successful candidates will be asked to submit their draft papers (8,000-10,000 words) by May 1, 2025.

The conference organizers are Dr. Irina Rebrova, researcher at ZfA TU Berlin, and Dr. Irina Makhalova, research fellow at the Humboldt University of Berlin (Institute of East European history), both Alfred Landecker lecturers. The working language of the conference is English. The organizers will provide accommodation for two nights in Berlin (June 11-13, 2025) and meals. Travel expenses will be reimbursed up to a maximum of 250 euros (for traveling in Europe) and up to 500 euros (for scholars from overseas). During the conference dates several activities (visits to relevant historical places and museums) are planned.

If you have any questions, please contact Irina Rebrova or Irina Makhalova via experienceofworldwarii@gmail.com. This conference is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Alfred Landecker Foundation.