The Past in the Present. Influencing Popular and Official Views of the Legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian Union in Modern Eastern Europe

Description of impact

History casts a long shadow in Eastern Europe, where national frontiers have shifted substantially across the centuries. Frost and Friedrich challenge nationalist interpretations of the region’s history through a radical reinterpretation of the Polish-Lithuanian union (1386–1795). The research has attracted significant attention across the union’s successor states and advanced understanding of the influence of the region’s complex past on the present. It has contributed to civic events, inspired creative works, and underpinned museum displays to promote alternative, more open and inclusive understandings of the region in a complex, often conflict-ridden region on the frontiers of NATO and the EU.

Outcomes to Date / Future Developments

The anniversaries of the Unions of Horodło (2013) and Lublin (2019) occasioned commemorations across the Union’s successor states, prompting reflection on its history and its legacies. Frost and Friedrich made central contributions to major civic events. Frost gave a public address at a ceremony in Horodło to unveil an obelisk marking the 600th anniversary of the Horodło Union; his research was cited in a Polish Senate debate (October 2013). Friedrich gave a public lecture on Royal Prussia and the Union at Poland’s Constitutional Court and accompanied Poland’s President at the official celebrations for the Constitution of 3rd May 1791 (2015). They both appeared at a public event organised by the Polish Cultural Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine marking the 450th anniversary of the 1569 Lublin Union. Frost gave a keynote public address and other lectures during the city of Lublin’s own celebrations (2019).

Impact status	Impact Completed (Open)
Impact date	2009 → 2020