Dr. Angelika Brechelmacher

Forschungsschwerpunkte:
Angelika Brechelmacher promovierte 2001 an der Universität Wien in Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie und Angewandter Linguistik. Ihr Forschungsinteresse gilt akademischen Karrieren sowohl in Österreich als auch im europäischen Vergleich, Frauen in Wissenschaft und Forschung sowie Veränderungen der Hochschulstudienstruktur. In den letzten Jahren leitete sie auch eine Reihe von transnationalen Forschungs- und Bildungs- und Kulturprojekten zu lebensgeschichtlichen Erzählungen und Frauenbiografien im grenzübergreifenden Vergleich. In diesem thematischen Zusammenhang entstanden mehrsprachige Videodokumentationen und Publikationen.

Main Research:
Angelika Brechelmacher obtained her doctorate in Social Anthropology and Applied Linguistics in 2001 at the University of Vienna. As a post-doc researcher she is currently a faculty member of the Department of Science Communication and Higher Education Research at the University of Klagenfurt. Her main research topics include doctoral studies in Austria, gender aspects and academic careers in Europe. In recent years she led numerous trans-national research and formation projects focussing on biographical interviews and female life paths in cross-cultural comparison. On this topic she directed and produced several multilingual video documentations. As a lecturer at the University of Klagenfurt she teaches on the subject of “Networking for women in academe” and “Studium Integrale for doctoral candidates”.

Ausgewählte Projekte:

Projekt: Flucht und Deportation Wien – Prag – Łódź

Jüdische Biografien zwischen Österreich und der Tschechischen Republik nachgezeichnet anhand von Prager und Wiener Postkarten aus dem Getto Litzmannstadt

Die Gedenkbücher zum Getto Litzmannstadt richteten bislang den Fokus der Erzählungen auf jene Städte, von denen aus die Deportationen aus dem Westen in die polnische Stadt  Łódź erfolgten: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Trier oder Wien. Doch die Transportlogik stimmt nicht immer mit den Lebensmittelpunkten der Menschen überein. Das Projekt Flucht und Deportation Wien – Prag – Łódź folgt biografischen Verflechtungen zwischen Österreich und der Tschechoslowakei, insbesondere zwischen Wien und Prag, die sich auch im Schriftverkehr aus dem Getto Litzmannstadt widerspiegeln. Postkarten aus dem Bestand des Staatsarchivs in Łódź bilden eine wichtige historische Quelle, um Spuren verwandtschaftlicher Beziehungen zwischen Wien und Prag zusammenzuführen.

Publikation:

Wonisch, Regina/Angelika Brechelmacher: Flucht und Deportation Wien – Prag – Łódź, Februar 2020

Gefördert aus Mitteln des Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich (Projektnummer P17-2650) und des Nationalfonds der Republik Österreich für Opfer des Nationalsozialismus.

Projekt: „ICTHE – Interactive Comprehensive Tool for Holocaust Education“

Zur Lernplattform Eternal Echoes

In the Erasmus+ project called ICTHE, seven European partners representing educational NGOs, universities and museums, want to shed light on our common European history, the consequences of the Holocaust and what can happen when human rights and democracy are not upheld.

By studying the steps that led to the Holocaust, we want to make young students aware of how subtle changes in society can lead to horrible consequences, and elucidate the importance of taking action against discriminatory and racist attitudes. Our intention is also to improve and foster Holocaust and human rights education.

Together, the partners from Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden developed an interactive tool for Holocaust Education.

The material in the tool is based on filmed interviews with survivors. Through their stories, students will learn about Jewish life in Europe before and during World War II. They will follow the survivors from their childhood, during the time in ghettos and camps until liberation and thereafter.

The tool will preserve the testimonies from the Holocaust and the knowledge of this part of Europe’s history for future generations, and highlight what happens when democracy is undermined and human rights are violated.

In the Erasmus+ project ICTHE we will learn from each other and share best practices in order to develop a common pedagogical approach to Holocaust education, using evaluated methods and didactics of all partners. Our aim is to provide teachers with a digital tool in the local languages of all partners – a tool that is comprehensive, ready to use, accessible and free. We also want to reinforce teachers’ expertise about the Holocaust, the Roma genocide and other groups persecuted by the Nazi regime and enhance teachers’ knowledge about and ability to use digital materials.

The results of the project and the learning platform Eternal Echoes were presented to teachers and educators from different countries at an international conference in Warsaw, Poland, August 24-25, 2019.

The project has received EU funding from the Erasmus + program that gave the application 95 quality points out of 100, an unusually high score. In its decision, the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) writes in its motivation that „the purpose and aim of the project is highly relevant based on the current situation in Europe, where racism, xenophobia, extremism and antisemitism is growing and a part of the daily news“ and that „the project’s potential impact is evident for the participating teachers and students but also for all teachers and students in schools across Europe and beyond its borders“.

ICTHE project consortium:

– Swedish Committee against Antisemitism http://skma.se/
– POLIN – Museum of the History of Polish Jews http://www.polin.pl/en
– Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation https://www.zachorfoundation.org/
– Instytut Tolerancji | Stowarzyszenie – Organizacja pozarządowa http://www.instytuttolerancji.org/wordpress/
– Universität Klagenfurt – Institut für Wissenschaftskommunikation und Hochschulforschung

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/icthe2019/

Report from the teachers team

Projekt „Understanding Europe“
The project aim is based on the idea that only well-informed people can make a sound decision about how they want to settle in in Europe and create their future. The consortium of „Understanding Europea“ also endeavours to support the migrants in this complex integration process.
> zur Projektseite
> Multiplier Event in Brussels, 1 March 2018
> Understanding Europe POSTCARD
> POSTCARD_Multiplier Event 2018_03_01

Projekt „LUTA – Learn-Understand-Trust-Act“
In the language of social media LUTA means Let Us Talk Again. This meaning goes well with our project in which LUTA stands for the principle „Learn-Understand-Trust-Act“. This key idea has accompanied us during our two-year partnership and hopefully will continue to do so.
> zur Projektseite

Projekt „Post 41 – Biografien und Postkarten von Wiener Jüdinnen und Juden im Ghetto Litzmannstadt 1941-1944″ 
Ausgezeichnet vom „Programm für Bürgerinnen und Bürger“ als eines der besten Projekte der vergangenen 7 Jahre, Beitrag siehe Publikation: Best of – Europa für Bürgerinnen und Bürger 2007-2013, S 37-40.