Historiography and Identity VI: Competing Narratives of the Past in Central and Eastern Europe, c. 1200 —c. 1600

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
The Past

1968. The “Prague Spring”: Fifty Years Later. Historical Essays

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
General Reader ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Prague Spring ◽  
The Military

This book is devoted to a symbolic event that defined the life and values of several generations. Half a century ago, Czech communists tried to give a new impetus to their country’s system of government by combining socialist values with a rational market economy and the mechanisms of a developed democracy. This effort failed, and the state was occupied by the military. This book is the result of joint efforts by Russian, Czech, and Romanian historians, archivists, and cultural and literary scholars, who—exploring new documents and materials—have reinterpreted these events and their lessons from a present-day perspective. Objectively, the “Prague Spring” is from a bygone era, but it is still a milestone, and many of the problems encountered during the Prague Spring are still relevant today. The authors hope that they have contributed to the historiography of the now-distant events of 1968 and that their contributions will help in analysing the experiences of the past in order to be prepared for the events of the future. This book is aimed at specialists in the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe, students of higher educational institutions, and the general reader interested in twentieth-century history.

Negotiating agency and structure: Trade union organizing strategies in a hostile environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragoș Adăscăliței ◽  
Ștefan Guga
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
General Situation ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Union Organizing ◽  
Hostile Environment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Automotive Assembly ◽  
Agency And Structure

This article investigates a case of successful union organizing in one automotive assembly plant in Romania. The authors argue that in order to explain why the union succeeds in defending workers’ rights there is a need to consider both structural and agency aspects that condition labor’s capacity to effectively defend their interests. The findings show that the union at the Romanian plant has made use of a diverse repertoire of protest activities in order to defend its worker constituency. The authors also discuss why as of late protests are less and less used by the union in response to the shifting economic and political environment in which the plant is embedded. They argue that a closer look at the strategy of the Romanian union and the path it has taken in the past decade provides a better understanding of the conditions for union success in an economic, legal, and political environment that has become increasingly hostile toward organized labor. In this sense, the article points to the more general situation unions in Central and Eastern Europe have found themselves in recent years.

scholarly journals Role of Creative Industries in the Post-Socialist Urban Transformation

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadeusz Stryjakiewicz ◽  
Michał Męczyński ◽  
Krzysztof Stachowiak
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
The West ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
The Past ◽  
Path Dependent ◽  
Basic Features

Abstract Over the past two decades the cities in Central and Eastern Europe have witnessed a wide-ranging transformation in many aspects. The introduction of a market-oriented economy after half a century of socialism has brought about deep social, economic, cultural and political changes. The first stage of the changes, the 1990s, involved the patching up of structural holes left by the previous system. The post-socialist city had to face challenges of the future while carrying the ballast of the past. Rapid progress in catching up with the West transformed the city a great deal. Later on, the advent of the 21st century brought a new wave of development processes based, among other things, on creativity and innovation. Hence our contribution aims to explore the role of creativity and creative industries in the post-socialist urban transformation. The article consists of three basic parts. In the first we present the concept of a ‘creative post-socialist city’ and define the position of creative industries in it. We also indicate some similarities to and differences from the West European approaches to this issue. In the second part, examples from Central and Eastern Europe are used in an attempt to elucidate the concept of a ‘creative post-socialist city’ by identifying some basic features of creative actions /processes as well as a creative environment, both exogenous and endogenous. The former is embedded in different local networks, both formal (institutionalised) and informal, whereas the structure of the latter is strongly path-dependent. In the third part we critically discuss the role of local policies on the development of creative industries, pointing out some of their shortcomings and drawing up recommendations for future policy measures.

scholarly journals Muzyczne reprezentacje przeszłości w dziecięcych filmach animowanych wyprodukowanych w Europie Środkowo- Wschodniej w latach komunizmu

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Lidia Babulewicz
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Animated Films ◽  
Musical Representations ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Made In

Musical Representations of the Past in Animations for Children Produced in Central and Eastern Europe in Times of Communism The subject of the article is the composition strategies of presenting the bygone time in animated films produced in the integrated cultural space that was, during the communist era, Central and Eastern Europe. Productions made in two countries – in the Soviet Union and in Poland – are considered. The discussion of film examples is conducted in an approximate chronological order, according to the time of production of individual pictures. The presentation of specific productions is not intended to exhaustively analyse these audiovisual works, but to review thematic threads related to the past and in their context compositional ideas and tendencies.

scholarly journals DEALING WITH THE PAST: PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT OF COMMUNIST CRIMES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES / LIDAR COM O PASSADO: PROCESSOS PENAIS E PUNIÇÃO DE CRIMES COMUNISTAS NA EUROPA CENTRAL E ORIENTAL

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 31-50
Author(s):  
Martin Faix ◽  
Ondrej Svacek
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Principle Of Legality

This article addresses issues arising in the context of transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, namely in Germany (former East Germany), Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The contribution reflects various means of transitional justice which were applied in these countries: access to the archives of secret police, lustration and prosecution of the crimes of the past (successor trials). Central issue of this article is the criminal prosecution of communist crimes. Here authors focus their attention on two interrelated aspects: choice of applicable law and statutory limitations, which both are linked to the principle of legality. Practice and methods in prosecution of the communist crimes adopted across the analyzed countries reveal considerable heterogeneity and from comparative perspective pose a unique legal laboratory. Despite differences in applicable law, including treatment and interpretation of statutory limitations, and differences in overall outcomes of prosecution and punishment of the communist crimes, all countries were conformed to requirements of the principle of legality. The article thus confirms that states, when dealing with their past, enjoy a wide margin of appreciation.Keywords:  Communist crimes. Central and Eastern Europe. Transitional justice. Successor trials. Nullum crimen sine lege.

scholarly journals The struggle of Fortinbras and Horatio in Romania: removal and re-collection of the communist past in Romanian museums

2015 ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
Iemima D. Ploscariu
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Motivation ◽  
Museum Exhibitions ◽  
Communist Past

The struggle of Fortinbras and Horatio in Romania: removal and re-collection of the communist past in Romanian museumsOver twenty years after the dismantling of communist regimes began in Central and Eastern Europe, the governments and people in these former Soviet bloc countries are faced with varying and often opposing ways to approach and present the communist past. Focusing on post-1989 museums in Romania, especially the Sighet Museum in Sighetul Marmaţiei and the Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest, the article will examine three themes that appear in museum exhibitions of Romanian communist history: the marginalization of the communist past, the victimization of a nation, and the need by curators to “rescue memory.” these approaches to the communist past leave a great deal out. Limited and biased portraits hinder a healthy coming to terms with the past initially intended by these institutions in Romania and similar institutions across Central and Eastern Europe. However, some attempts have been made to bring in more voices and face the past on its own terms apart from the political motivation or desires for retribution, which often motivate the current interpretation of the past. Walka Fortynbrasa z Horacym w Rumunii: likwidacja i ponowne przypomnienie komunistycznej przeszłości w rumuńskich muzeachPo ponad 20 latach od chwili, gdy zaczęły się rozpadać komunistyczne reżimy w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej, rządy i społeczeństwa byłych krajów bloku sowieckiego doświadczają odmiennych, często przeciwstawnych podejść do komunistycznej przeszłości i sposobów jej przedstawiania. Skupiając swą uwagę na muzeach w Rumunii po roku 1989, zwłaszcza Miejscu Pamięci Ofiar Komunizmu i Ruchu Oporu w Sighetu Marmaţiei (Syhot Marmaroski) oraz Muzeum Chłopstwa Rumuńskiego w Bukareszcie, autorka niniejszego artykułu analizuje trzy zagadnienia, które przewijają się w muzealnych ekspozycjach poświęconych dziejom Rumunii w czasach komunistycznych; są to: marginalizacja komunistycznej przeszłości, wiktymizacja narodu i potrzeba „ocalenia pamięci” przez kustoszy. Powyższe podejścia do komunistycznej przeszłości ignorują wiele kwestii. Niepełny i tendencyjny obraz opóźnia zatem dojście do ładu z przeszłością na zdroworozsądkowych zasadach, co w myśl początkowych założeń miało w Rumunii nastąpić dzięki muzeom, jak też dzięki podobnym placówkom w całej Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej. Jednakże podejmowane są wciąż nowe próby, aby dopuścić do głosu więcej różnych opinii i stawić czoło przeszłości niezależnie od motywacji politycznych bądź dążenia do zemsty, które często stoją za bieżącymi interpretacjami przeszłości.

scholarly journals Contours of National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights in Central and Eastern Europe

2021 ◽  
pp. 174-186
Author(s):  
Jernej Letnar Černič
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Wide Range

Central and Eastern Europe has been often overseen in the debates on business and humanrights. Countries in the regions share a common history, experience and culture. Human rights andfundamental freedoms were in the past systematically and generally violated. Since democratisation,countries have suffered from a wide range of related human rights abuses. Corporations in theregions have often directly and indirectly interfered with the human rights of employees and thewider communities. Business and human rights has in the past lagged behind global developmentsalso in the light of the lack of capacity and general deficient human rights situation. This articledescribes and discusses contours of the National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights of theCzech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine and Slovenia by examining their strengths anddeficiencies. It argues that the field of business and human rights in Central and Eastern Europe hasmade a step forward in the last decade since the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principleson Business and Human Rights. Nonetheless, human rights should be further translated into practiceto effectively protect human dignity of rights-holders.

scholarly journals Between Individual Memory and Social Memory. What Do People in Poland Remember About 1989?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Aneta Ostaszewska
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Individual Memory ◽  
Collapse Of Communism ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

30 years have passed since the events of 1989 that led to the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. In the paper the themes of social memory of political transformation in Poland in 1989 are discussed. The content of online statements collected from popular Polish news portals are analysed. When asking the question what events and experiences do Poles bring back when they think of 1989, I am interested in the relationship between the individual (biographical) memory and collective memory – the socially reconstructed knowledge of the past.

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