Kathleen Beger

Dr. Kathleen Beger is a Researcher at the Institut für Osteuropäische Geschichte (IOS) within the University of Regensburg's History Department. Since February 2023, she coordinates the Volkswagen Foundation-funded project 'Transforming Anxieties of Ageing in Southeastern Europe.' Previously, she held roles in foreign trade promotion and foundation work in Bonn (2019–2022) and researched at IOS under the Interreg Danube Transnational Program (2022–2023). Her research focuses on Soviet childhood, Ukrainian studies, migration, and demographic challenges in Southeastern Europe.

Education: Studied Slavic Languages/Literature and East European History in Leipzig, Kyiv, and Vienna. Earned her PhD (2018) at the University of Regensburg's Graduate School for East/Southeast European Studies with a comparative thesis on Soviet childhood.

Research interests include Soviet cultural policies, post-Soviet legacy, migration patterns, and elderly care systems in transnational contexts. She has published monographs, book chapters, and blogs analyzing topics like the Soviet Pioneer Camp Artek and Ukrainian refugees in Germany. Teaching includes seminars on Soviet childhood, Ukrainian history, and Eastern European tourism.

Grants: Volkswagen Foundation (2023–present). Key projects include analyzing demographic shifts in Southeastern Europe for Renovabis e.V. (2025). No scientific awards explicitly mentioned but has contributed peer reviews for leading journals.

Labs/Teams: Core member of the IOS research group addressing aging anxieties and migration dynamics in Southeastern Europe.