Brigitte Pirastru

Brigitte Pirastru is an Associate Researcher with the CHUS research team at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Angers. She holds a Doctorate in Germanic Civilization (2020) and advanced degrees in Franco-German Journalism (Paris 3) and Germanic Studies (Strasbourg). Her work focuses on cinematic representations of displacement, memory competition between expulsion narratives and Nazism, and the role of German-language cinema in Cold War identity formation. She has organized major international conferences on West German cinema's post-war legacy and contributed to interdisciplinary projects like the UCO 'MOBIL' mobility research program.

• Education: Doctorate in Germanic Civilization (2020), Master 2 in Franco-German Journalism (2014), Master 2 in Germanic Studies (2015)

Her research interrogates how German-language films from 1950s-60s engaged with expulsion of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe, constructing national identity through Heimatfilme and confronting Nazi-era traumas. Current projects analyze marginalized female experiences in post-WWII migrations and linguistic representations of expellee communities.

Recent publications (2020-2024) explore:

• Forgotten expulsion narratives in German cinema
• Women's silenced post-war migrations
• Cultural perceptions of America in West German TV
• Linguistic marginalization of expellees

She actively participates in cross-disciplinary initiatives linking migration studies (MOBIL program), ethics research (Mig'Get project), and cultural historiography.