Conference: Gulag: What We Know and Why It Matters

On 28 November 2011, the IICCMER organized in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Humanitas Publishing House, the Polish Institute and the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Conference entitled Gulag: What We Know and Why It Matters. The event benefited from the participation of Anne Applebaum, renowned historian of the Soviet concentration camps universe and editor of Washington Post, the philosophers Horia-Roman Patapievici, President of the Romanian Cultural Institute, and Gabriel Liiceanu, Director of Humanitas Publishing House.

Ana Blandiana, President of the Managing Council of the Civic Academy Foundation, Romulus Rusan, Editor of the Sighet Annals series, Andrei Pleşu, Rector of New Europe College, Holger Dix, Director of the Konrad Adenauer branch for Romania and the Republic of Moldova, Alain Blum (EHESS), Jean-Charles Szurek (Institut des sciences sociales du politique, CNRS), Marek Szczygiel, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Romania, Maja Wawrzyk, Director of the Polish Institute in Bucharest, and Constantin Gembaşu, the Romanian translator of Czeslaw Milosz, attended the event as well.

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French-Romanian scientific workshop on the theme “Memory of the Holocaust and the Memory of the Gulag” (Bucharest, 28 November 2011)

The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMRE) and New Europe College (NEC, Institute for Advanced Study) organise a French-Romanian scientific workshop on the theme of the “Memory of the Holocaust and the Memory of the Gulag”.

The workshop’s aim is that of debating and analysing the evolution of the collective representations of the crimes of Nazism cand of Communism. How are the two totalitarian regimes of the 20th century remembered? How have these collective memories been constructed? What possible connections and comparisons can be drawn between them? Which are the factors having influenced their evolution across time?

Date: Monday, 28 November 2011. Time: 2.30-5.30 pm. Venue: New Europe College, 21 Plantelor Street, Bucharest.
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The program of the workshop
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The Commissions for the Analysis of the Communist Past in the Republic of Moldova and Romania

The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER) with the support of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and together with the Soros Foundation – Romania organised the debate entitled The Commissions for the Analysis of the Communist Past in the Republic of Moldova and Romania, on 25 October 2011, at 17.30, in the IICCMER’s Conference Room.

Mr. Igor Caşu and Mr. Sergiu Musteaţă, historians, members of the Commission for the Analysis and Evaluation of the Totalitarian Regime in the Republic of Moldova, together with Mr. Cristian Vasile and Mr. Adrian Cioflâncă, members of the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of Communist Dictatorship in Romania and representatives of the IICCMER’s executive management, took part in the event. The event was opened by Dr. Holger Dix, director of the KAS Offices for Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

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The Signing of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience

21 European institutions specialised in the memory of the communist, and, respectively, the fascist regime, constituted the international association entitled the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.

On Friday, 14 October 2011, in the Lichtenstein Palace of Prague, 21 institutions from thirteen countries – among which the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile – signed the founding document of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, in the presence of Mr. Petr Nečas, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, and Mr. Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland. The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. László Tökés, was represented at the signing ceremony by Mr. Zsolt Szilágyi, Head of Office. The foregoing event paralleled the Summit of the prime ministers of the Visegrad Group.
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PEMC Agreement
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Colloquium: „Le cinéma entre contrôle et servilité?“. 24 May 2011

Centre français de recherche en sciences sociales (CeFReS) - Prague in cooperation with the Faculty of Letters, Charles University (Prague) organised, on 24 May 2011, the Colloquium entitled „Le cinéma entre contrôle et servilité?“ Among the participants, one could mention the researchers from the CNRS - Atelier de recherche sur l’intermédialité et les arts du spectacle, L'Université de Lausanne, Masaryk University-Brno, University of East Anglia, the Faculty of Letters-Charles University (Prague), the Arts Academy in Prague (FAMU) etc.

The IICCMER was represented by Ms. Damiana Oţoiu, director of the Diaspora and Minorities Department, who gave a lecture on pro-collectivisation propaganda by means of mobile cinema units, entitled “Le cinéma au service de la collectivisation en Roumanie. Importer des films soviétiques ou créer ses propres films ?”.

Debate on Memory and Interpretations of the Communist Regime in Eastern Europe. 16 May 2011

The Romanian Cultural Institute in Paris, in cooperation with the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, organised, on 16 May 2011, the launch of the History of Communism in Europe, the first international  edition  of  IICCMER’s yearbook, as well as round table discussions on the subject of Memory and Interpretations of the Communist Regime in Eastern Europe.

Ms. Anette Wieviorka (CNRS), Ms. Damiana Oţoiu, director, IICCMER, and Ms. Raluca Grosescu, director, IICCMER, participated in the event. Their contributions referred to Methods and Means of Remembering the Nazi and the Communist Past (Anette Wieviorka), Dealing with the Past – Metamorphoses of Urban Space (Damiana Oţoiu) and Representations of Communism with the Romanian Population between Nostalgia and Amnesia (Raluca Grosescu).

Students’ Conference: Analysing and Assuming the Recent Past within Post-Dictatorial Societies. 13-14 May 2011

The Conference aimed at discussing the assuming and the understanding of the recent past within post-dictatorial societies. The event was organised by the Faculty of Political Science – University of Bucharest, in cooperation with the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile and Università di Bologna – Forlì.  

The keynote speaker within the works of the Conference was Ms. Françoise Mayer, director of Centre français de recherche en sciences sociales(CeFRes), Prague, researcher with Centre d’étude des mondes russe, caucasien et centre-européen - Ecole de Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (CERCEC), and professor with Université Montpellier III.

Over 30 students and researchers with the University of Bucharest, Università di Bologna- Forlì, Central European University, University of Michigan, Université Libre de Bruxelles,  Al. I. Cuza University of Iaşi participated in the event.

Partners: Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, Bureau Europe Centrale et Orientale; Service de Coopération et d’Action Culturelle (SCAC), Ambassade de France en Roumanie; La Délégation Wallonie Bruxelles en Roumanie; Policy Center for Roma and Minorities (Bucharest); Europe Direct CENTRAS (The Information Centre of the Representation of the European Commission in Bucharest); The Association of Students in Political Science with the University of Bucharest (ASSP-UB).

Programme
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Networking Meeting with Organisations Active in the Field of Memory and Rememberance. 3-4 May 2011

In the interval 3-4 May 2011, the European Commission organised, in Bruxelles and Mechelen, the International Conference Network Meeting with Organisations Active in the Field of Memory and Remembrance.

The purpose of the Conference was to create and consolidate a network of active European organisations in the field of the memory of Nazi and communist crimes and to debate sensitive issues related to the approaching of the two totalitarianisms of the 20th century. Institutions from all over Europe, specialised in analysing and preserving the memory of Holocaust and of the communist crimes, were present in the event; among them, Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania, Holocaust Educational Trust UK, Yad Vashem Israel, Study Centre for National Reconciliation-Slovenia, Memorial de la Shoah- France, Institute for the Study of the Totalitarian Regimes-Czech Republic.

The IICCMER was represented by Ms. Raluca Grosescu, director, the Public Policies and Partnerships Department, and Ms. Damiana Oţoiu, director, the Diaspora and Minorities Department.

Programme
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The Other Romania. Cold War Broadcasting Event

The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile organized an event dedicated to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s role during the Cold War. On this occasion, a double book launching taook place (Cold War Broadcasting: Impact on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe: A Collection of Studies and Documents, 2010; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: The CIA Years and Beyond, 2010), with the participation of the editor, Mr. A. Ross Johnson, former director of Radio Free Europe and research fellow and adviser to the RFE/RL Archive Project at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

The book launching was followed by a round-table discussion which benefited also from the participation of: Mr. Mihnea Berindei, researcher at CNRS and member in the Scientific Council of IICCMRE; Mr. Dorin Dobrincu, director of the National Archives of Romania; and Mr. Stephen Ruken, second secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest.

The event took place on April 27.

The Conference History of Communism within the Romanian Educational System

The Soros Foundation, in collaboration with the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile and the Romanian History Teachers’ Association – CLIO, organized the conference History of Communism within the Romanian Educational System. Participants debated issues such as: what young Romanians kwon about communism; the history of communism in the national curriculum; the teaching methods in the area of the history of communism; the policies that are to be continued in this educational field.

Speakers: Ovidiu Voicu (Soros Foundation); Andrei Gheorghiță (Soros Foundation); Raluca Grosescu (the IICCMRE); Doru Dumitrescu (the Ministry of Education); Mihai Manea (CLIO Association); Mihai Stamatescu (professor); Monica Dworski (CEDU 2000+); Ioana Boca (the Civic Academy); Cristina Anisescu (CNSAS). Teachers and pupils participated alongside.

Platform of European Memory and Conscience

During the Public Hearing “What do Young Europeans Know about Totalitarianisms?” organized at the European Parliament on 29th of March  2011, the working group on the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, adopted the following document concerning the education on human rights through the study of the recent past. IICCMER, as partner of the Platform, supports the measures drafted during this meeting.

Platform of European Memory and Conscience
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