Katerina Kvapilova

Dissertation Title (tentative): "The role of the Soviet Union in the expulsions of Sudeten Germans from postwar Czechoslovakia"

Major professor: Dr. Olga Velikanova

Specialty Areas: Joseph Stalin's objectives for East-Central Europe; Expulsions of Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia; The role of the Soviet Union in the expulsions of Sudeten Germans; The Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia; Ethnic nationalism in Czechoslovakia.

I am a PhD candidate with the Department of History at the University of North Texas. Currently, I am in the early stages of my dissertation which examines the assumption that the Soviet leader Joseph V. Stalin used the expulsions of Sudeten Germans from postwar Czechoslovakia as a forceful political tool towards the Czechoslovak government. Furthermore, my dissertation attempts to bring more understanding to the correlation between the Soviet involvement in the expulsions and the ultimate Communist takeover.

Additional information:

Languages:

• Czech
• English
• Russian (in progress)

Professional Experience:

• TWU Woman's Collection/Archive 2015-2016; Teaching assistant (2017 - current)

Awards and Honors:

• Graduated (MA) with Distinction
• Graduated (BS) Cum Laude
• Awarded a Travel Grant by the Texas Woman's University (Summer 2018, $500)
• Awarded a Graduate Research Experiences Abroad Travel Grant by the University of North Texas (Summer 2020, $4,100)

Other:

• Member of Phi Alpha Theta (PAT) Historical Association
• Published two articles in the Student History Journal Ibid.
  • "Historiography of Bolshevik Surveillance"
  • "Herbert Hoover - A Fallen Hero?"
• Presented a research paper at the regional PAT Conference in Commerce (March 2018)
  • "The Expulsions of Germans from Ústí nad Labem/Aussig in 1945"
• Presented a research paper at Texas Woman's University (February 2019)
  • "The Role of the Allies in the Expulsions of Germans from East Central Europe"