Coming to tearms with the communist past
COMING TO TERMS WITH THE COMMUNIST PAST
an experience sharing conference
14 aprilie / 16h00 / Centrul Ceh
un eveniment: Centrul Ceh Bucuresti, Institutul Pentru Studiul Regimelor Totalitare – Rep. Ceha, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, BstU Bundesbeauftragte – Germania, CNSAS, IICCR – Romania
Pentru o natie care a trait experienta dramatica a totalitarismului, procesul de asumare a istoriei recente este cu siguranta unul lung si delicat. In mod clar asta e si cazul tarilor care mai bine de jumatate de secol au format “Bloc de Est”. Complexitatea subiectului
naste inevitabil dificultati si tensiuni. Adepti si oponenti ai reconcilierii sociale lupta cu indarjire pentru a controla trecutul recent. Nu din intamplare acestia muta subiectul dezbaterilor spre o zona pur tehnica sau politica. In acest timp opinia publica tinde sa oscileze intre entuziasm si retinere, intre empatie plina de speranta sau apatie. Reflectarea repetata asupra procesului ca un intreg este esentiala pentru a mentine cursul dorit. Compararea proceselor de reconciliere nationala in tarile care dupa Cel de-al II-lea Razboi Mondial au fost victime ale comunismului totalitarist poate oferi un instrument productiv.
Va invitam la o dezbatere ce isi propune o revitalizare impetuoasa a procesului de reconciliere prin discutie comparativa asupra experientei din Romania, Republica Federala a Germaniei si Republica Ceha. Se spera ca acest eveniment sa contribuie la reinnoirea perspectivelor prin oferirea unei “oglinzi” fiecareia dintre tarile respective.
ENGLISH VERSION
For a nation which has lived the traumatic experience of a totalitarian regime, the process of coming to terms with the own recent history definitely is a delicate and long-winded matter. This, of course, goes for the societies in the countries which for nearly a half-century made up the so-called Eastern Bloc.
The complexity of the issue entails inevitable difficulties and tensions. First-line advocates and opponents of social reconciliation eagerly put their teeth into the matter of “controlling” the recent past. Not incidentally, these stakeholders force the subject into highly technical or strongly politicised areas of debate. Meanwhile, public opinion tends to oscillate between enthusiasm and reluctance, between hopeful empathy and fatalist apathy. Repeated reflection on the process as a whole is essential in order to keep the desired course. Comparison of national reconciliation processes in the countries which fell into the clutches of communist
totalitarianism after World War II, can offer an effective instrument to this end.
The present round-table conference proposes to give an impetus to (re)vitalisation of the reconciliation process through a comparative
discussion on the experiences in Romania, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic. This event is hoped to contribute to refreshing views by offering a “mirror” for each of the presented countries.
