Literary Translations at War: Mapping World War 2 in Europe (1939-45)

Project Information

TranslAtWar

Grant agreement ID: 101052360

DOI

10.3030/101052360

EC signature date 4 October 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 2 128 708,00

EU contribution

€ 2 128 708,00

Coordinated by

NANTES UNIVERSITE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TranslAtWar (Literary Translations at War: Mapping World War 2 in Europe (1939-45))

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Focusing on World War II, a highly significant period in 20th-century European history, the ERC project "Literary Translations at War" (TranslAtWar) aims to investigate how literary translation contributed to the understanding of history in the making. It also examines how history itself influenced the analysis of various forms of literary translation.

The project explores the circulation of ideas and culture through translation, paying particular attention to the role of the agents involved in this circulation—both male and female translators—during wartime.

TranslAtWar's research program also questions the impact of translation practice under such exceptional historical circumstances on the intellectual and cultural development of several countries. It seeks to understand what these practices might have contributed, given their position (central or peripheral) within the world of European literature.

Under the supervision of Mrs. Christine Lombez (Nantes Université), and leveraging long-standing international partnerships and expertise, this innovative project aims to write a new chapter in European history and, ultimately, promote the emergence of a new disciplinary field at the crossroads of translation studies and war studies.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The TranslAtWar program started in January 2023 and is scheduled to end in December 2027. The work to be carried out during these five years has been divided into five Work Packages (WPs):
* WP1: European bibliographic data collection
* WP2: Charting European translators in wartime
* WP3: Translated texts – Corpus Studies
* WP4: Translation policies and dissemination strategies in wartime
* WP5: Project Management

For each WP, a number of events and deliverables are expected.

So far (as of August 2025), the main activities completed have been:

- A first meeting in January 2023 with the TranslAtWar team (online).
- The definition of the four PhD positions, along with their respective supervisors, during Spring 2023, followed by the completion of the recruitment process in December 2023. For just over a year now, the four PhD students (Joanna Madejczyk, Alexandra Teodra-Mândra, Magdalini Pappa, and Margherita Caputo) have been working on the bibliography related to their thesis topics and on the development of the database and translators' portraits. They have also participated in the TranslAtWar seminar on translators held on October 24th and 25th in Athens, as well as in other non-TranslAtWar conferences.
- The TranslAtWar Kick-off meeting on June 27th and 28th, 2023, in Nantes.
- A first workshop to begin defining the TranslAtWar database, with our digital engineer Julie Aucagne.
- The drafting and submission of the TranslAtWar Data Management Plan (deliverable approved on June 30th).
- The drafting and submission of an ethics deliverable focusing on the risks to research participants and staff involved in the TranslAtWar program (deliverable submitted on January 8th, 2024, and approved).
- A meeting with the five Work Package leaders on March 14th, 2024, in Nantes.
- The TranslAtWar seminar on translators held on October 24th and 25th in Athens.
- A second workshop with our digital engineer Julie Aucagne about the TranslAtWar database.
- The definition of the two PhD positions, during Spring 2025. The recruitment process is expected to be completed by October 2025.

More generally, during the first reporting period:

> The TranslAtWar database has been developed thanks to the work of the TranslAtWar scientific team (PI, European collaborators, and the four PhD students) and Julie Aucagne.
> The scientific team visited libraries and archives and participated in external events related to the ERC TranslAtWar project.
> The two deliverables due for the ERC TranslAtWar program have been submitted and approved.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The ERC TranslAtWar program is groundbreaking because it has never been attempted before. The TranslAtWar team aims to gather new bibliographic data on translated works, authors, and translators during wartime, focusing on elements such as the choice of works, the meaning of translation in conflict, distribution networks, and the identity of translators. This will contribute to a more complete understanding of European literary history by uncovering untapped sources and shedding light on the role of translations in shaping cultural and historical realities during wartime.

Additionally, the project aims to establish a new research field, Wartime Translation Studies, which will intersect with war studies and translation studies.
This interdisciplinary approach will encourage future research into other European wars, such as the Balkan Wars, WWI, the Spanish Civil War, and the wars in former Yugoslavia and Ukraine, while also expanding globally to include conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The project plans to collaborate with experts like Professor Bachir Diagne and Dr. Pugazh Pugazhendi, enhancing the research scope beyond Europe.
Ultimately, TranslAtWar represents an innovative and far-reaching initiative that will make significant contributions to fields such as comparative literature, translation studies, and the history and sociology of translation, while also exploring translation’s role as a political and cultural tool during wartime.

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