‘European Remembrance’
5th International Symposium of European Institutions dealing with 20th-century History
Budapest, 24-26 May 2016
1956. Contexts, Impact, Remembrance
The 5th edition of the annual European Remembrance Symposium organised by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity will soon begin in Budapest in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. For three days between 24th and 26th of May, representatives of institutions and organisations dealing with 20th-century history will discuss contexts, impact and remembrance of the Hungarian Uprising in 1956.
The year 1956 ‘shook the world’ and showed the extent to which the people of Eastern Europe wanted to overthrow communist dictatorships. It also became a benchmark for various movements in countries under Soviet dominance that fought for freedom and in anticipating the events of 1989 and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Its legacy is still present in European memory.
Sixty years after the revolution more than 200 participants from almost 30 countries will discuss the circumstances and conditions of its outbreak, its impact on the history of the whole Eastern bloc as well as the questions of what Stalinism and de-Stalinisation in Eastern Europe was like and why it differed so much from country to country. Much attention will be also given to the description of societies in Eastern Europe under communist rule and the techniques that communist regimes used for handling crises in their countries. This year’s panellists include Professor Mark Kramer, director of the Cold War studies programme at Harvard University, Professor János M. Rainer, director of the Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Professor Andrzej Nowak from the Institute of History at Jagiellonian University and Dr A Ross Johnson from Wilson Center.
The Symposium will be accompanied by a unique exhibition of posters prepared on this occasion by artists from all ENRS member countries. Ralph Burkhardt from Germany, Frantiśek Guldan from Slovakia, Iosif Király from Romania, Istvan Orosz from Hungary and Leszek Żebrowski from Poland, authors from different countries, as well as different generations, experiences and backgrounds created works referring to events in 1956. The posters convey their emotions and recollections, but also represent the memory of 1956 events from a broader national perspective. Posters will be presented in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences during the Symposium.
The idea behind the Symposium is based on the conviction that there is a need to have common and multidimensional reflection on the history of the last century which would take into consideration various narrations, sensitivities, historical experiences and their interpretations. This annual Symposium organised by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity together with its partners aims to facilitate and create new areas of cooperation between institutions and organisations concerned with the study of 20th-century European history and history education.
More information, detailed agenda and registration form available at:
www.europeanremembrance.enrs.eu. The number of participants is limited.
The “European Remembrance” symposium cycle was launched in Gdańsk in September 2012. Its successive editions were held in Berlin, Prague and Vienna.
Organisers :
European Network Remembrance and Solidarity
Hungarian Committee of National Remembrance
Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Partners:
Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship
European Solidarity Centre
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European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS) is an international initiative, which aims to research, document, and popularise knowledge of 20th-century European history
with a special emphasis on wars, totalitarian dictatorships, and forced migrations, as well as nationalist, racist, and ideologically motivated persecutions. ENRS member states are Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, while Albania, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Latvia have an observer status. www.enrs.eu
Contact with the media:
Jadwiga Olech-Kostka
European Network Remembrance and Solidarity
Tel. (22) 891 25 00
e-mail: jadwiga.olech@enrs.eu
