Dorothee Riese

Dorothee Riese is a researcher at the Leibniz Institute for the Study of Societies in Central and Eastern Europe (GWZO), specializing in literary writing, Romani studies, and memory cultures in Eastern Europe. She previously served as Assistant to the Director at GWZO from 2022 to 2025 and coordinated the Leibniz Research Network for Central and Eastern Europe from 2024 to 2025.

• B.A. in International Literatures and Slavic Studies (2013) from University of Tübingen
• MA in History and Culture of Central and Eastern Europe (2018) from European University Viadrina Frankfurt an der Oder
• MA in Literary Writing (2021) from German Institute for Literature of Leipzig University

Her research focuses on:

• 20th-21st century literatures and cultures of Ukraine, Romania, and Russia
• Memory culture in Germany and Central/Eastern Europe
• Autobiographical writing and participatory projects in post-1989 Eastern Germany
• Representation of Roma history and identity in art and theater

At GWZO, she explores how marginalized communities reclaim narratives through creative writing and public performance, particularly examining Romanian Roma's theatrical contributions post-1989. Her debut novel Wir sind hier für die Stille (2024) engages with Romanian history and culture.

She has previously studied in Moscow, Barnaul, and Saint Petersburg, and worked as a trainee at the Buchenwald Memorial in Weimar (2018–2020).