Abstract
ABSTRACT This article examines the role of websites as historical sources, using a comparative case study of Germany and Poland’s respective lost territories after WWII and the border changes ordered by Stalin. The article proposes a methodology derived from the ‘Toolbox’ of the Oxford Internet Institute, which includes link and referral analysis plus sourcing of data about websites in past formats via the ‘Wayback Machine’ (archive.org). Its aim is to suggest ways in which historians can better assess the material function of these online sources within the wider taxonomy of historical discussion, in ways often taken for granted for traditional publications: for instance, noting ascribed provenance, prominence, age and stability as textual sources, in addition to their contents. The approach is tested through two websites each from Poland and Germany, construed as a pilot and spur to further investigation for application to other cases beyond where contentious episodes of 20th Century history are reframed to serve illiberal agendas, notably in Central Europe by parties such as Law and Justice in Poland, Fidesz in Hungary, or AfD in Germany.
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