biology

Ostforschung

Ostforschung is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ostforschung rather than just read about it. In short: Ostforschung (German: [ˈɔstˌfɔʁʃʊŋ]; "research on the east") is a German term dating from the 18th century for the study of the areas to the east of the core German-speaking region. At its core, Ostforschung postulated that Germans and Germany were superior to Poles and Poland, and aimed to prove this thesis.

Key takeaways

Ostforschung belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ostforschung to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ostforschung from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ostforschung (German: [ˈɔstˌfɔʁʃʊŋ]; "research on the east") is a German term dating from the 18th century for the study of the areas to the east of the core German-speaking region. At its core, Ostforschung postulated that Germans and Germany were superior to Poles and Poland, and aimed to prove this thesis. The idea of German superiority and Prussian stereotypes about Poles were the core beliefs of this field of research. Traditional Ostforschung has fallen into disrepute with modern German historians as it often reflected Western European prejudices of the time towards Poles. The term Ostforschung itself remained in use in the names of some journals and institutes throughout the Cold War, but was replaced by more specific terms by the 1990s (e.g., the journal Zeitschrift für Ostforschung, established in 1952, was renamed Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung in 1994). Since the 1990s, Ostforschung itself has become a subject of historical research. The tradition of Ostforschung is now considered discredited by German historians. Ostforschung was also the name of a multidisciplinary organization set up before World War II by Nazi German chief propagandist Albert Brackmann supporting Nazi genocidal policies, ethnic cleansing and anti-semitism. Brackmann and several other Nazi and nationalist historians and anthropologists co-ordinated Nazi German research on Eastern Europe, mainly the Second Polish Republic. The research conducted by this organisation, as well as the Ahnenerbe, was instrumental in the planning of ethnic cleansing and genocide of local non-German populations in the Generalplan Ost.

See also Drang nach Osten Generalplan Ost Volksdeutsche

References

Sources Burleigh, Michael. Germany Turns Eastwards: A Study of Ostforschung in the Third Reich. Auf den Spuren der Ostforschung; Eine Sammlung von Beiträgen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Bekämpfung der westdeutschen "Ostforschung" beim Institut für Geschichte der europäischen Volksdemokratien. Leipzig. 1962.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Józef Szłapczyński, Tadeusz Walichnowski, „Nauka w służbie ekspansji i rewizjonizmu (Ostforschung)”, Interpress, Warszawa 1969. Drożdżyński Aleksander, Zaborowski Jan, „Oberländer: Przez „Ostforschung”, wywiad i NSDAP do rządu NRF”, Warszawa 1960. „Organizacje przesiedleńców oraz tzw. Ostforschung – narzędzia rewizjonizmu”, „Ost-Mittel Europa” w programie odwetowym „Ostforschung” [w:] „Bezpieczeństwo Europy a groźba militaryzmu zachodnioniemieckiego; materiały międzynarodowej konferencji naukowej Praga 23-27 maja 1961”, Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych, Warszawa 1961. Wróblewski Seweryn Tadeusz, „Ewolucja „Ostforschung” w Republice Federalnej Niemiec”, 1969-1982 (Studium niemcoznawcze Instytutu Zachodniego), Instytut Zachodni, 1986 ISBN 83-85003-04-5. „Deutsche Ostforschung und polnische „, Wydawnictwo: Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk Poznań 2002, ISBN 83-7063-313-7. Wacław Długoborski, „Śląsk w oczach zachodnioniemieckiej Ostforschung”, Milan Myška, „Ostforschung w NRF a dzieje Czechosłowacji”, Śląski Instytut Naukowy, Katowice 1962. German Scholars and Ethnic Cleansing, 1919-1945 by Michael Fahlbusch and Ingo Haar, Berghahn Books, 2005

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ostforschung

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ostforschung claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ostforschung before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ostforschung ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ostforschung

In research: Ostforschung appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ostforschung in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ostforschung is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anti-Polish sentiment in Germany, Area studies, Area studies stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ostforschung outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ostforschung in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ostforschung means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ostforschung out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ostforschung in simple terms?

Why does Ostforschung matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ostforschung?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ostforschung.