Threat and self-assertion. Young people with refugee experience during the Nazi era and today
|Sparkling Science-Project |(1. 10. 2024-30. 9. 2027)
Flight due to racist, sexist or political persecution, war, poverty or natural disasters is a constant in human history. Unaccompanied young people on the run are a particularly vulnerable group. In a historical and sociological comparison, the project examines the escape of Austrian-Jewish youths during the Nazi era and today's flight movements of young people to Austria. The age range of 14 to 21 years is a relatively large and dynamic time span and follows the legal definition.
The same questions are asked about both groups, taking into account gender differences: Which organisations, networks and measures enabled young people to leave the country? Why were the routes chosen and what was the journey like? How did they manage to arrive, what official obstacles did they have to overcome. How did they adapt to the country of exile and the host society? How were and are the burdens of the flight experienced and processed? How is contact with the family and the memory of the country of origin maintained?
In the first sub-project, the historical team from the Institute for Jewish History in Austria answers these questions for Austria during the Nazi era. In the second sub-project, social scientists from the Ilse Arlt Institute for Social Inclusion Research at St. Pölten University of Applied Science are analyzing interviews with young people who have fled to Austria since 2015. The research work is carried out in guided workshops at the school, which was selected for the project due to the training it offers in the social sector. The questions posed by the pupils themselves can expand the research work to include aspects that have been ignored in the adult perspective. Conversely, embedding the fates of young people in older and more recent history sharpens the focus on current problems that the pupils will be confronted with in their later professional lives.
In strict compliance with data protection regulations, all data will be entered into a digital platform that will be openly accessible at the end of the project, enabling comparisons, links and digital storytelling. In addition to the scientific dissemination, the students are producing a podcast series for the campus radio station of the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten and an information stand at the annual "Festival of Encounters" on the Rathausplatz in St. Pölten.
In cooperation with the |Ilse Arlt Institut for Social Inclusion Research| at the University of Applied Science St. Pölten
project lead: |mail: Martha Keil|
project staff: |mail: Benjamin Grilj| (Injoest), |mail: Merle Bieber| (Injoest), |mail: Johannes Pflegerl| (IAI), |mail: Katharina Auer-Voigtländer| (IAI), |mail: Rosa Hergan| (IAI), |mail: Sabine Lehner| (IAI)
Supported by the |Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research|.
