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Editorial Introduction 
 
Meyer Weinshel 
University of Minnesota 
 
Before I highlight the articles in this year’s edition of the Central Europe Yearbook, I am 
reminded of the complex publishing apparatus that makes our work at the journal possible. 
A publication such as this one requires not only a team of reviewers, but also a dedicated 
team of libraries and publishing professionals as well as in-house editorial staff to see 
articles through to publication. Not to mention, faculty mentors also play a central role in 
this process; they often encourage their talented undergraduates to submit their work to 
the journal in the first place, and without whom we would not be able to highlight this 
important subset of scholarly work.  
 
Our capacity to publish new articles also reflects recent developments at the Center for 
Austrian Studies that took place over the course of the past year. I am indebted to the 
extraordinary work of the newly-appointed assistant editor, Elijah (Eli) Wallace. Eli is 
completing his Ph.D. in the University of Minnesota’s Department of History, and began 
working for the Center in the fall of 2025.  
 
We at the Center also employ several undergraduate staff members at any given time. Since 
becoming senior editor of the CEY in 2023, one of my goals was to better integrate the 
Center for Austrian Studies student staff into the journal’s operations. The reasons for 
doing this were both professional and structural. Undergraduate students acquire relevant 
skills and experience with publishing prior to graduation, and their involvement in the 
journal’s publication also mirrors staffing structures at other undergraduate-focused 
journals in North America. My sincere gratitude to both Briana Heidkamp-Vu (UMN History, 
2025) and Colby Miller (UMN History, 2026) for their outstanding and collaborative work 
while this volume was under production.  
 
Last but not least: we have five extraordinary articles to share with you in this current 
volume. As in years past, they reflect the current diversity of scholarship within the many 
fields comprising Central European Studies.  Chloe Hooker examines the long-term 
legacies of the Hussite Wars in the 15th century within the larger history of religion in 
Central and Eastern Europe. Nicholas Tsui uses Kan Youwei’s writings on Habsburg 
Austria in the late 19th century to paint a larger picture of China’s own modernization at 
the time, and how perceptions of Europe shaped Chinese politics at the turn of the 19th and 
20th centuries. Sylvia Rutherford convincingly argues that following the assassination of 

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Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), the public image she had worked hard to cultivate for herself 
quickly transformed into a more iconographically romanticized depiction that continues to 
shape her legacy today. Sorcha Deheer examines children’s writings of the Holocaust in 
Yugoslavia, which have generally been omitted from the historical record. And finally, Rafi 
Escoto provides us with an analysis of the film, Green Border (2023; directed by Agnieszka 
Holland), which grapples with the film’s depiction of the 2021 humanitarian crisis that 
unfolded at the Polish-Belarusian border.   
 
We at the Center for Austrian Studies hope you enjoy this issue of the CEY, and we are 
always grateful for your continued support and interest in the journal.  

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