Anti-East European Racism in Germany

Eastern Europe continues to receive little attention in research on racism, race, and whiteness. This contrasts with the long historical tradition of devaluing the East in the West, which continues to this day. In particular, there is still no history of racism towards Eastern Europe and its people after the turning point of 1945. Germany is an especially relevant case due to its long history of entanglement with Eastern Europe, which was often also a history of expansion and conquest. In this book, we show, on the one hand, how Eastern Europe and its inhabitants were historically devalued and racialized, especially from the mid-19th century to National Socialism, whose quest for living space in the East and the ensuing war of extermination represented the culmination of Germany`s colonial relationship with Eastern Europe. On the other hand, we trace how the racist knowledge that emerged as a result continued to have an impact after 1945 and remains relevant to the present day, especially in connection with the increased East-West migration that has been taking place since the late 1980s. The aim is to put the central importance of Eastern Europe in the history of German colonialism and racism on the scholarly and public agenda. One could speak of an Eastern enlargement of the racism debate. Following research that has described the ambivalent intermediate position of people from Eastern Europe in Western racist hierarchies as not quite white, we have developed the concept of anti-Eastern European racism. This is an overarching concept that encompasses negative, essentialist attributions to the geographical space of Eastern Europe and its inhabitants. This includes various historical and contemporary forms of racism related to Eastern Europe, such as anti-Slavism, antisemitism, and anti-Roma/anti-Gypsyism/Gadjé racism, as well as their interactions with other categories such as social class and gender. As a result, we are able to show the continuities, changes, and ruptures in derogatory attributions to Eastern Europe and its people in the German context. Our study is the first to highlight these powerful traditions in history and the present. Since the publication of the German-language version, the book has met with great interest from both the academic community and civil society. At the same time, translations into other languages are needed to raise international awareness of the topic. With the FWF`s funding of a Ukrainian-language version, a first important step in this direction is now possible.