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FencePhoto (detail): Edwin Remsberg © mauritius images/age fotostock

European Perspectives on the War in Ukraine
 Life in Exile

What does it mean to live in exile, forcefully displaced from one’s home? In this collection of articles, European writers offer a glimpse into the reality of life as a refugee from the war in Ukraine. Everyday details — dishes piled in the sink, food left to rot in the freezer — give shape to the abstract implications of being uprooted.

Articles

A wall of a house with a window missing its panes and a big hole gaping under it. Photo (detail): Igor-Francyshyn © Pexels

Homeless and Houseless
 The Ice Hut

Polina Aronson writes about the loss of home on both sides of the border and the sinkhole that the war has created.
 

Most Importantly, Stick Together Photo: © Václav Pecl

Roma from the Ukraine
 Most Importantly, Stick Together

The Czechs have shown strong solidarity with Ukraine. Almost 390,000 war refugees have been officially registered here to date. But one group tends to be overlooked: the Ukrainian The Grand Initiative helps Romani families stranded in Brno.

Black and white photo of a baby and a little girl in winter jackets Photo (detail): © Andrej Bán

Displaced Kids
 With their mothers abroad, but their minds are on their fathers

One missile that hit the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk in early April had the words “For the children” painted on it in Russian. That message has become a symbol of Russian aggression against the most helpless and vulnerable. 

Empty hall in the Supreme Arbitration Court in Moscow Photo (detail): Thomas Köhler © picture alliance / photothek

An Agent on the Home Front
 How I Became a Bastard Before Anyone Else

The author of the text is a journalist from a non-capital Russian city. He was one of the first to be “awarded” foreign agent status. His text describes how the war in Ukraine is perceived by people who have already found themselves in the position of “enemies of the people”.

More About Living in Exile

In the podcast series THE BIG POND, journalists tackle a wide range of German-American subjects from a fresh transatlantic perspective. In these episodes, the producers explore two vastly different topics related to living in exile: a community of German artists who found refuge in California and the prized possessions that immigrants brought with them to U.S. Listen below.

Thomas Mann ETH Library Zurich, Thomas Mann Archive, unknown photographer

German Artists in Southern California
 Villa Aurora and Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles

During the Nazi regime, many German artists and intellectuals found refuge in Southern California. In Los Angeles, the homes of authors Lion Feuchtwanger and Thomas Mann still inspire transatlantic art fellows today.

Migration © Chris Gash

Memories of Home
 The Things We Brought

A stitch, a book, a hat. Katie Davis speaks with immigrants about the items that they brought to the U.S. from their home countries — and the special meaning that each of these souvenirs holds.

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