Mobility in the 20th Century. Political, Economic, and Socio-Societal Dimensions of Population Movements in Central Europe

This issue examines mobility as one of the key analytical frameworks of 20^th-century Central European history. Encompassing not merely the physical movement of individuals and groups, “mobility” is understood in this space as a complex political, economic, social, cultural, and spatial process shaped by war, state transformation, border changes, forced migration, and social restructuring. The present issue explores how mobility influenced identities, social hierarchies, political loyalties, and collective memory. Particular attention is devoted to forced migration, refugee movements, and post-war population transfers, as well as professional and social mobility. Each contribution here employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining political, social, and cultural history, microhistory, historical geography, oral history, and memory studies. Based on archival sources, ego-documents, interviews, and statistical materials, the studies presented demonstrate mobility as a fundamental mechanism which shapes modern Central European societies as well as the relationship between individuals, states, and historical experience.