Suchergebnisse

Die Studie betrifft die Analyse der Erinnerungskulturen in den zwei polnischen, jedoch über unterschiedliche Traditionen verfügenden Kleinstädten Labes und Flatow nach 1945. Methodisch knüpft die Autorin an das Konzept des kollektiven Gedächtnisses an und überträgt dieses auf kleine Untersuchungsräume, um auf die räumliche Differenzierung der lokalen Erinnerungslandschaften hinzuweisen. Aufgrund der spezifischen Vergangenheit dieser Städte geht es überwiegend um die Erinnerung an ihre deutsche und jüdische Kulturlandschaft. Haben Labes und Flatow in den Jahren 1945-1989 die nichtpolnischen Spuren ihrer Vergangenheit verdrängt, umgedeutet oder vergessen, so wurden diese nach dem Umbruch 1989/1990 – und zum Teil sogar schon früher – gesucht, entdeckt und ins kollektive Gedächtnis adaptiert. Die Hauptfragen lauteten: Wie, wann und warum hat man die fremde Kulturlandschaft verdrängt und ab wann sowie warum hat man die ungewollten Elemente gesucht und sucht sie noch bis heute? Es geht also um die Erforschung der Wendepunkte in den lokalen Debatten, vorwiegend in Bezug auf die deutsche, jüdische und polnische Vergangenheit der Kleinstädte. Die Studie zeigt, dass die lokalen Erinnerungskulturen nur scheinbar homogen sind und die Geschichtsdiskurse großenteils von den Traditionen innerhalb der jeweiligen Bevölkerung abhängen.

Das Thema Zwangsarbeit spielte in der Aufarbeitung der deutschen NS-Geschichte jahrzehntelang eine untergeordnete Rolle. Erst in den 1990er Jahren drang es allmählich ins Bewusstsein der Öffentlichkeit. Die Impulse dazu gingen oft von interessierten Laien aus, die sich mit lokaler Geschichte befassten. In der bayerischen Gemeinde Affing führte eine Seminararbeit zum Schicksal eines Zwangsarbeiters nicht nur zur Errichtung eines Mahnmals, sondern auch zur Gründung einer deutsch-polnischen Städtepartnerschaft. Um das kommunale Gedächtnis lebendig zu halten, sind rituelles Gedenken und Kontakte zwischen den Gemeinden aber nicht genug. (Osteuropa (Berlin) / SWP)

The spread of venereal diseases after the Second World War constituted a grave public health danger in Europe. Especially in all four occupation zones in Germany and the Polish People's Republic high morbidity rates were observed. In order to limit the spread of diseases, respective administrations adopted specific regulations. The aim of this research is the analysis and comparison of legal regulations for controlling and combating venereal diseases in these countries. We have analyzed legislative and administrative acts concerning combatting venereal diseases issued by the official organs of the Soviet Occupation Zone, the German Democratic Republic, and the Polish People's Republic from 1945 to 1989. Subsequently, the analyzed sources were evaluated in light of the existing literature on the topic. Our analysis shows that policy approaches in both countries were based the Soviet Union's model for fighting venereal diseases. Visible are similarities of the approaches. They include organization of anti-venereal services, compulsory hospitalization, and actions against social groups perceived as sources of venereal diseases. Beside the purpose of breaking the spread of the epidemics, the approaches had also a political aimof sanctioning behavior that diverged fromprescribed socialist moral norms.

Background Biomedical research nowadays is increasingly carried out in multinational and multicenter settings. Due to disparate national regulations on various ethical aspects, such as informed consent, there is the risk of ethical compromises when involving human subjects in research. Although the Declaration of Helsinki is the point of reference for ethical conduct of research on humans, national normative requirements may diverge from its provisions. The aim of this research is to examine requirements on informed consent in biomedical research in Germany, Poland, and Russia to determine how each national regulatory framework relates to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki. Methods For this analysis, we conducted a search of the legal databases "Gesetze im Internet" for Germany, "Internetowy System Aktow Prawnych" for Poland, and "ГAPAHT – Garant" for Russia. The search was complemented by a review of secondary literature contained in the databases Google Scholar, PubMed, Polish National Library, and eLibrary.ru. We have identified 21 normative regulations containing provisions on informed consent in clinical research in all three countries. The content of these documents was systematically categorized and analyzed. Results The normative framework in all three countries shows a strong commitment towards the core ethical principles of research envisaged in the Declaration of Helsinki. Nevertheless, provisions on informed consent vary between these three countries. The differences range from the method and language in which information should be provided, through the amount of information required to be disclosed, to the form of documenting consent or withdrawal. In the case of research on vulnerable groups, these differences are particularly visible. Conclusions The identified differences can negatively impact the ethical conduct of international clinical studies. Attention needs to be paid that flexibilities within national regulations are not misused to undermine the protection of research subjects. Achieving global or regional legislative harmonization might prove impossible. Such lack of legal consensus reinforces the significance of the international ethical agreements.

The development of new methods in the field of prenatal testing leads to an expansion of information that needs to be provided to expectant mothers. The aim of this research is to explore opinions and attitudes of gynecologists in Germany, Poland and Russia towards access to prenatal testing and diagnostics in these countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with n = 18 gynecologists in Germany, Poland and Russia. The interviews were analyzed using the methods of content analysis and thematic analysis. Visible in all three countries is a connection of prenatal medicine with the politically and socially contentious issue of pregnancy termination. Respondents in Poland and Russia concentrated on the topic of inadequate resources. Quality of information for expectant mothers is an important point in all three countries. Only in Germany was the issue of language barriers in communication raised. With regard to non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) respondents in Germany focused on the ethical issues of routinization of testing; in Poland and Russia they concentrated on fair access to NIPT. Challenges in all three countries arise from structural factors such as imprecise and prohibitive regulations, lack of resources or organization of healthcare services. These should be addressed on a political and medico-ethical level.

The development of new methods in the field of prenatal testing leads to an expansion of information that needs to be provided to expectant mothers. The aim of this research is to explore opinions and attitudes of gynecologists in Germany, Poland and Russia towards access to prenatal testing and diagnostics in these countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with n = 18 gynecologists in Germany, Poland and Russia. The interviews were analyzed using the methods of content analysis and thematic analysis. Visible in all three countries is a connection of prenatal medicine with the politically and socially contentious issue of pregnancy termination. Respondents in Poland and Russia concentrated on the topic of inadequate resources. Quality of information for expectant mothers is an important point in all three countries. Only in Germany was the issue of language barriers in communication raised. With regard to non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) respondents in Germany focused on the ethical issues of routinization of testing; in Poland and Russia they concentrated on fair access to NIPT. Challenges in all three countries arise from structural factors such as imprecise and prohibitive regulations, lack of resources or organization of healthcare services. These should be addressed on a political and medico-ethical level.