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Austrian Refugee Movements to Czechoslovakia, 1934–39: From Political Exiles to Jewish Refugees

A lecture by Wolfgang Schellenbacher (University of Vienna / EHRI) in the frame of the seminar on Modern Jewish History of the Institute of Contemporary History (AV ČR) and CEFRES in partnership with the Jewish Museum

Where: CEFRES library – Na Florenci 3, 110 00 Prague 1
When: 5 pm to 7 pm
Language: English

The political exile of Austrian Socialists in Czechoslovakia in 1934 is different from other refugee movements in central Europe at that time, most noticeably because of the sympathetic approach of the Czechoslovak government towards those fleeing. In the later 1930s, however, the refugee policies of Czechoslovakia became distinctly more restrictive. By comparing the escape routes and fates of Austrians fleeing persecution for their political beliefs in 1934 with those of Austrians attempting to get into Czechoslovakia to escape anti-Jewish persecution in 1938, the new, anti-Jewish refugee policy of Prague becomes clear.

Becoming Refugees, Becoming Survivors? Reframing Jewish Children’s Experiences in Transnational, longue durée Perspective

A lecture by Laura Hobson Faure (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3) in the frame of the seminar on Modern Jewish History of the Institute of Contemporary History (AV ČR) and CEFRES in partnership with the Masaryk Institute (AV ČR).

Where: CEFRES library, Na Florenci 3, 110 00 Prague 1
When: from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Language: English

Abstract

Since the 1990s, historians have sought to incorporate Jewish children’s experiences into the historiography on the Holocaust (Dwork, 1991, Stargardt, 2006), seeking out child-produced sources to write child-centered histories. Childhood as a sub-field of Holocaust studies has continued to develop, and now includes works on Jewish children’s experiences in Occupied Europe, as well as in the countries to which they fled (Michlic 2017, Gigliotti and Tempian, 2016, Cohen 2018, Ouzan 2018). However, historians have often constructed their work within local or national frameworks, remaining staunchly attached to a narrow periodization, focusing either on the war years or the postwar period. My current research, on a small group of about 300 children who fled from Central Europe to France in 1938-39, and from France to the United States in 1941-42, proposes a new reading of this history by considering children’s lives in transnational perspective, over a period of time that includes both the Holocaust and its long aftermath. By following the process through which children became refugees, I will shed light on little known child-evacuation schemes, but also question how these children, as adults, shaped the rise of contemporary Holocaust memory, as Holocaust survivors. This project thus proposes a microhistory of children’s networks, with the hope of raising larger questions of how individuals and families responded to persecution collectively, how social work practices and organizations shaped children’s lives, and how former child victims shaped the rise of Holocaust memory in Western Democracies.

Belarus and the Russian Invasion in Ukraine

Belarus and the Russian Invasion in Ukraine

2nd session of “CEFRES Webinars for Ukraine” organized in partnership with the GDR Connaissance de l’Europe médiane

Date: Wednesday 20th April 2022, 12:00-13:30
Location: online (to register, write at the address cefres@cefres.cz)
Language: English

Convenor and moderation: Ronan Hervouet (CEFRES / University of Bordeaux)

With the participation of

  • Milàn Czerny, Belarus Observatory, Oxford University
    Belarus, Still a Sovereign State?
  • Yauheni Kryzhanouski, Sciences Po Strasbourg
    The Ukrainian Conflict Seen by the Belarusian Society
  • Anna Talarionok, Charles University
    Belarusian Exiles Caught in the Ukrainian Conflict

A complete presentation of the seminar is available and downloadable here.

Continue reading Belarus and the Russian Invasion in Ukraine →

Belarusian exiles in Central and Eastern Europe after 2020

Belarusian exiles in Central and Eastern Europe after 2020

CEFRES workshop, CEFRES Library, Na Florenci 3, Prague

When: May 19, 2022, 9:00 am-6:00 pm
Where: At CEFRES and online
Language: English

Convenors: Ronan HERVOUET (CEFRES / University of Bordeaux), Daniela KOLENOVSKÁ (Charles University), Anna TALIARONAK (Charles University)

The conference will be at CEFRES and simultaneously on zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84702264928

Abstract: 

The unprecedented protest movement against the Lukashenko regime was followed by an unprecedented repression. In the months following the 9 August 2020 presidential elections, more than 200,000 Belarusians are reported to have left the country. The most important destinations are Lithuania and Poland, but also the Czech Republic, Georgia, Ukraine and Germany. This emigration concerns various social groups: workers, doctors, academics, IT sector employees, students, etc. Indeed, it differs from the exile of political activists forced to leave after previous presidential elections. 

This workshop aims to analyze different dimensions of this European exile. It will examine the experiences of exiles, the reasons for their emigration, the conditions of reception in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the forms of solidarity that are deployed towards these populations and within these communities. 

This workshop will bring together researchers from the academic world, but also members of NGOs and solidarity networks.

Program: 

9.00 | Welcome

09.15-10.15 | History of Belarusian exile

Discussant: Michal PLAVEC (Prague’s National Technical Museum)

Dorota MICHALUK (Nicolaus Copernicus University)

Unrealized concept of the Belarusian People’s Republic – causes and consequences

Daniela KOLENOVSKÁ (Charles University)

The different features of Belarusian exile in the 20th – 21st centuries

10.30-12.30 | Belarusian exiles, politics, and democracy

Discussant: Alena MARKOVÁ (Charles University)

Ekaterina PIERSON-LYZHINA (Université Libre de Bruxelles / CEVIPOL)

The paradox of seeking legitimacy by Belarusian internationally recognized opposition 

Ekaterina DEIKALO (Independent expert in international law and human rights, Belarusian academician)

What is the State and who we are ?

Kryscina ŠYJANOK (Belarusian translator & interpreter, activist)

Central European politics and Belarusian exiles : the Czech case

Vintsuk VYACHORKA (Belarusian linguist & journalist)

(To be confirmed)

13.30-15.00 | Academics, students and exile from Belarus

Discussant: Jérôme HEURTAUX (CEFRES)

Aliaksandr PARSHHANKOU (Charles University) and
Dmitrij METLICKÝ (Prague University of Economics)

The Role of Student Trade Unions during the Political Crisis in Belarus in 2020-2021

Nina SKEPYAN (Belarusian Institute in Prague)

Belarusian historical scholarship within the political crisis of 2020

Karolina KRACÍKOVÁ (Charles University)

Belarusians in exile in Czech Republic: solidarity and networks among students

15.30-17.15 | The experience of exile : gathering life histories, analyzing narratives

Discussant: Anemona CONSTANTIN (CEFRES)

Ronan HERVOUET (University of Bordeaux / CEFRES)

Life stories of Belarusian exiles : a sociological approach

Anna TALARIONAK (Charles University)

Belarusian Exiles Caught in the Ukrainian Conflict

Henadz KORSHUNAU (Center for New Ideas)

Belarusians today: in and outside Belarus

17.30-18.00 | Conclusive speech

Michèle BAUSSANT (CEFRES / ICM Fellow)

Far from where? From Exile to Exile, between uprooting and banishment

Bewildering Boar: Evolution of Wild Boar Population and its Impact on European Ecosystems

Symposium organised by the Institute of Ethnology AV ČR and CEFRES s with the support of the program Strategy AV21 – Diversity of Life and Health of Ecosystems

Venue: Vila Lanna, V Sadech 1, 160 00 Prague 6
Date: 8.11.2019, 10:00-16:00

Eurasian wild pigs (Sus scrofa) feature regularly in European public discourse, for their numbers have been rising spectacularly across the continent. While in some parts of Europe this by now synanthropic species generates sympathy, in other contexts humans have declared war on wild boars for causing extensive damage to landscapes, agriculture, transportation networks and so on. In this context we are asking how the Eurasian wild pig has featured in human lives, and vice versa, in dynamically changing socio-environmental contexts.

Contact: broz@eu.cas.cz

BEYOND 1989. Hopes and Disillusions after Revolutions (A Global Approach)

BEYOND 1989. Hopes and Disillusions after Revolutions
(A Global Approach)
International Conference – Film Screening “Solidarnosc. La Chute du Mur commence en Pologne” (EN subtitles)

Date: 6 & 7 December 2019
Venue: Prague (Charles University Karolinum, Faculty of Arts, French Institute)
Organizers: French Research Center in Humanities and Social Sciences (CEFRES), Faculty of Arts of Charles University (FF UK), Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University (FSV UK), Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ÚSD AV ČR), and ERC Project “Tarica”
Partners: French Institute in Prague, Faculty of Humanities of Charles University, Centre of French Civilization and Francophone Studies of Warsaw University (CCFEF), Scientific Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Paris, Institute of Polish Culture of the University of Warsaw (IKP), CNRS Research Unit LADYSS (University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne) and GDR Europe Médiane (CNRS)
Language: English

➤To attend Friday’s conferences, a registration is needed by sending an email at: cefres@cefres.cz

2019 represents an important symbol and a major commemorative moment in Europe. Marking thirty years since the collapse of the communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as fifteen years since their European integration, this anniversary gives rise to political, memorial and academic initiatives throughout Europe.
This thirtieth anniversary is a unique opportunity to think about revolutionary experiences and regime change in various historical contexts. Thereby, this conference aims at offering wider and new academic perspectives on regime transformations and democratic transitions, through a comparative approach. Post-Communist Europe will undoubtedly be one of our focus, as well as the Arab world following the 2011 uprisings or the political transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, this unprecedented proposition is to offer an equal value of those revolutions in a comparative analysis, without any ranking based on success of failure.
The chosen perspective is to question the object “revolution” by the multiple interpretations that the revolution raises: promotion, even sublimation; but also disqualification, even outright rejection.

Friday 6, December
Karolinum
Modrá posluchárna, Charles University, Ovocný trh 560/5

13:30-14:00: Registration

14:00-15:00: Keynote Addresses
Translation CZ / EN / FR
Mr. Tomáš Petříček, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of  the French Republic

15:00-15:30: Introduction
Lenka Rovná, Vice-Rector for European Affairs, Charles University
Miroslav Vaněk, Director of ÚSD AV ČR
Jérôme Heurtaux, Director of CEFRES

15:30-16:15: 1st Academic Keynote
Moderation: Michal Pullmann, Dean of Faculty of Arts, Charles University
Adéla Gjuričová (ÚSD AV ČR): The Unbearable Lightness of Women’s Rights: On Gender Order in Post-Socialist Transformation

16:15-16:45: Coffee Break

16:45-17:30: 2nd Academic Keynote
Georges Mink (College of Europe / CNRS): 1989 Revisited in the Light of its Consequences. Thoughts of a Committed Observer

17:30-18:45: Roundtable: Hopes and Disillusions towards European Integration
Ivo Šlosarčík (FSV UK)
Marie-Elizabeth Ducreux (CNRS / EHESS)
Marion Van Renterghem, Journalist / Albert-Londres Prize
Michael Žantovský, Director of the Václav Havel Library

18:45: Reception

Saturday 7, December
Faculty of Arts / nám. Jana Palacha 1/2
Room 104

9:30-10:15: 3rd Academic Keynote
Moderation: Eliška Tomalová (FSV UK)
Michal Kopeček (ÚSD AV ČR): Democratic Hopes and Liberal Illusions: the 1989, Post-Dissident Politics of Memory and the Challenge to “Liberal Consensus” in East Central Europe

10:15-12:00: Panel 1: Promoting Revolutions
Moderation: Pavel Mücke (ÚSD AV ČR)
Federico Tarragoni (Paris-Diderot University): From Revolutions to Revolutionary Subjectivities. Some Sociological Tracks
Matěj Spurný (FF UK / ÚSD AV ČR): Environment in Capitalism. Paths to a Neoliberal Consensus
Ester Sigillò (ERC Tarica): Engaging in Civil Society in Response to the Failure of Political Parties in Tunisia
Eliška Tomalová (FSV UK): Velvet Revolution in Cultural Diplomacy and Nation Branding
Jana Wohlmuth Markupová (FHS UK): Meaning of 17th November 1989 in the Memory of Former Student Protagonists in Czech Republic
Emmanuelle Boulineau (ENS Lyon): Spatial Illusions and Disillusions in Central Europe: Borders, Flows, and Territorial Cooperation

12:00-12:15: Coffee Break

12:15-13:45: Panel 2: Disillusions after Revolution
Moderation: Jérôme Heurtaux (CEFRES)
Éric Aunoble (University of Geneva): Post-Revolutionary Syndromes: The Case of Ukrainian Communists after 1920
Clément Steuer (ERC Tarica): Discrediting the Revolution in Political Discourse: the Role of Counter-Revolutionary Parties in Egypt
Alia Gana (CNRS / ERC Tarica), Maher Ben Rebah (ERC Tarica): Political Disenchantment in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia in the Light of Electoral Processes
Nicolas Maslowski (CCFEF): Post-Dissent: Between Social Resource and Source of Disillusion
Marcel Tomášek (FHS UK): Scholars and Experts’ Disillusions on Post-1989 Dynamics in East-Central Europe

13:45-14:45: Lunch

14:45-17:30: Students’ Presentations
Moderation: Paweł Rodak (Warsaw University), Marie-Elizabeth Ducreux (EHESS / CNRS)
Michal Louč (FHS UK / ÚSTR): The Former Czechoslovak Political Prisoners from the 1950s and their Perceptions of the Velvet Revolution and Dealing with Communism
Václav Rameš (ÚSD / FF UK): The 1989 as an Opportunity for a New Economic Order. Expectations and Disillusionments in the Czechoslovak Postcommunist Ownership Transformation
Marek Skála (FHS UK): The Beginnings of Small Businesses during the Economic Transformation Period
Martin Babička (Oxford University): “We are Buying the Future”: Neoliberalism, Historicity, and the Case of Voucher Privatization in Postsocialist Czechoslovakia
Filip Keller (FF UK): And Then Wolves Have Come. Czechoslovakian Technical Intelligentsia on The Postcommunist Transformation
Pavel Jonák (FHS UK): Great Expectations? Czech Post-Revolutionary Way of Teaching Creative Writing from the Perspective of its Actors
Eliška Černovská (FSV UK): The Role of Guy Erismann in French-Czech(oslovakian) Musical Relations before and after the Velvet Revolution
Igor Zavorotchenko (FHS UK): One Example the 1989/1991 Revolution could not Change the Historical Assessment, Although we did Hope So

16:30-16:45: Coffee break

Klára Žaloudková (FSV UK): Preying on the State: Oligarchization of Bulgaria after 1989
Jiří Kocián (FSV UK): Persistent Burden: Post-1989 Romania and The Quest for Democratic Maintenance
Marek Suk (FF UK): Were Dissidents Representing the Alternative to the Normalisation Regime? Their Political Performance before and shortly after November 1989
Claire Laurent (University of Strasbourg): “Polszczyzna”: The Hope of a Nation without a State and the Disillusion of a Post-Revolutionary Nation-State

17:30-18:30: Break. Move to French Institute

French Institute, Stepanska 35
Kino 35

18:30-20:00 Screening of Anna Szczepanska’s film Solidarnosc. How Solidarity Changed Europe, LOOKSfilm/Arte-NDR, Germany, 2019, 52 mn (English subtitles).
Moderation: Luc Lévy, Director of the French Institute
Debate with Anna Szczepanska and Georges Mink

20-20:30 Closing Remarks
Nicolas Maslowski (CCFEF), Paweł Rodak (Warsaw University), Aneta Bassa (Polish Academy of Sciences), Jérôme Heurtaux (CEFRES), Eliška Tomalová (FSV UK), Michal Pullmann (FF UK), Pavel Mücke (ÚSD AV ČR), Alia Gana (CNRS, ERC Tarica)

Read more about the event subjects on: http://cefres.cz/fr/11961