Unit 5: Between Exile and Migration – Defining Refugees in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century East Central Europe [FORTHCOMING]

Summary

This topic historicizes the concept of refugees long before the 1951 Refugee Convention. In the second half of the 19th century, even without a proper legal framework, the notion of refugee was widespread in the political discourse and bureaucratic documents of European states. The case studies of refugee groups, primarily defined by religion or ethnicity, illustrate the interconnectedness of these groups. This topic examines how the definition has evolved in relation to specific refugee crises and the link between these developments and mass westward migration. The involvement of refugees in migration processes reflects the complexity of the historical application of the concept while revealing the multidirectionality and multiplicity of migration patterns in imperial Central and Eastern Europe.

Author: Oleksii Chebotarov

Oleksii Chebotarov is a Researcher of the Department of Conservation, Archaeology, and History at the University of Oslo. Previously, he worked as a research fellow and lecturer at the University of Vienna, the University of St. Gallen, New Europe College, Bucharest, the Center for Urban History in Lvi, and the Ukrainian Catholic University. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Studies from the University of St. Gallen in 2021. His primary research interests include migration history, Jewish history, borderland studies, digital humanities and environmental history.