Persons and affiliations

Date

Description

The year 1989 brought an end to the almost 40-year dictatorship of the Communist Party, which also left many traumatic memories of the time spent in prisons and labour camps. The subsequent period of economic and political transformation has therefore brought with it many challenges in coming to terms with the undemocratic past. With the emancipation of civil society after 1989, organizations of people persecuted or imprisoned for political reasons were founded in the disintegrating Czechoslovakia and reunifying Germany, and soon became significant and powerful actors in the creation of collective memory. Among the main goals of their activities were to achieve rehabilitation, compensation and recognition. The seminar will focus not only on the establishment of these associations, but also on their activities and external and internal conflicts.