Essays

Garrisons Towns. in the Baltic Sea Area

The geopolitical situation shaped life on the islands of Gotland, Rügen, and Saaremaa. They became garrison islands and the presence of the military transformed daily life. After the Cold War, the military left the islands.

Essay by Beate Feldmann View Comments

Flirt with a Holocaust Crime. Stephen Daldry’s and David Hare’s Film the Reader

An analysis of the film The Reader, based on the book of the same name. The film’s perspective on individuals’ behavior during the Holocaust makes coming to terms with acts of the past impossible – which itself invalidates the entire film.

Essay by Antje Wischmann View Comments

Preparing for the Revolution. Hungarian Dissident Intellectuals before 1989

In the 1960s Hungarian intellectuals listened to jazz as a protest against the system. Symbols united them in the fight. In 1989 they returned to lead the revolution.

Essay by András Bozóki View Comments

The Cybernetics Scare and the Origins of the Internet

Cybernetics was created in the Soviet Union in the ’50s; it celebrated technical progress as the future of mankind. Cybernetics proceeded from the encounter between human and machine.

Essay by Slava Gerovitch View Comments

Brücke nach Europa. Schwedisch-Pommern 1630-1815

Pomerania flew the Swedish flag during the years 1630–1815. The province became a coveted badge in the great political power game of Northern Europe.

Essay by Jens E. Olesen View Comments

The Valuable Body. Organ trafficking in Eastern Europe

The altruistic act of donating organs is increasingly a financial transaction with the body as a commodity. Poor people are persuaded, tricked, into selling one of their kidneys without receiving adequate care afterwards.

Essay by Susanne Lundin View Comments

The Baltic Sea. A Model Region

Baltic Sea cooperation is a good example of how nations can find forms of collaboration. There is a solidarity between countries and a desire to work on things such as environmental problems.

Essay by Bernd Henningsen View Comments

A Triangular Drama. at the Periphery of a World War

The struggle for control among the Great Powers in the Nordic region during the 19th century focused on the dissolutions of unions and on nation-building. Russia and Napoleon were strong players. Sweden and Finland had a close relationship.

Essay by Max Engman View Comments