Videos

Panellists:
- Maciej Rydel (Polish Gentry Association): "Status of Material, Cultural, and Heritage of the Gentry in Poland: Manors, Palaces and Parks"
- Anna Damięcka-Wójcik (University of Warsaw): "Lehndorff Palace in Sztynort: From 'Non-Place' to 'Post-Place'"
- Ewa Manikowska (Polish Academy of Sciences): "Collecting: A Distorted Tradition"

Discussant: Paul Zalewski (Europa-Universität Viadrina) (ZOOM)
Moderation: Konrad Bielecki (ENRS)

The 14th conference of the series 'Genealogies of Memory' with the theme Gentry, Nobility and Aristocracy: the Post-Feudal Perspectives.'
The conference examined the memory and legacy of Europe’s landowning elites—gentry, nobility, and aristocracy—and their role in shaping the political, economic, and cultural history of Europe. Through comparative discussions, leading academics will delve into how the post-feudal dissolution of these elites continues to influence social structures, material heritage, and memory in various European regions.

Keynote: Longina Jakubowska (Utrecht University)
Moderation: Jan Rydel (ENRS)

The 14th conference of the series 'Genealogies of Memory' with the theme Gentry, Nobility and Aristocracy: the Post-Feudal Perspectives.'
The conference examined the memory and legacy of Europe’s landowning elites—gentry, nobility, and aristocracy—and their role in shaping the political, economic, and cultural history of Europe. Through comparative discussions, leading academics will delve into how the post-feudal dissolution of these elites continues to influence social structures, material heritage, and memory in various European regions.

Johann “Rukeli” Trollmann (1907-1944) was a German Sinti boxer. He won the German light heavyweight title, only to have it stripped by the Nazis due to his heritage and "un-German" style. He endured forced sterilization, forced labour, and eventually died in a concentration camp, reportedly beaten to death by a kapo he had once defeated in a boxing match.

As every year on 23 August, the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, the ENRS recalls those persecuted in the name of totalitarian and authoritarian ideologies.

Elina Machálkova (1926 – 2017) was born into a Czech Roma family, faced persecution under Nazi occupation. She was forced to leave school and work in a factory, she narrowly escaped deportation. After the war, she co-founded the first museum in Europe focusing on the history and culture of the Roma and published a book on her family's history, dedicated to preserving Roma culture and history.

As every year on 23 August, the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, the ENRS recalls those persecuted in the name of totalitarian and authoritarian ideologies.

Video reportage of the 12th European Remembrance Symposium.
The event took place in Warsaw, Poland from 21 to the 24 May 2024.

What does freedom mean today and what did it mean throughout the historical period discussed above? How did both the struggle for freedom and its celebration become enshrined in the region’s cultural and historical memory? How has freedom been commemorated in museum narratives and how is it commemorated today?
These questions are among the key ones running through the 12th European Remembrance Symposium.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

W reportażu „Miasto dzieci świata” Beata Chomątowska dekonstruuje idylliczny obraz sanatorium w Rabce-Zdroju. Sięgając do przeszłości uzdrowiska i świadectw uczestników turnusów, dziennikarka odkrywa skrywane traumy, z którymi od dziesięcioleci za murami sanatorium mierzyły się dzieci.

W pracy „Polio w Polsce 1945–1989” Marcin Stasiak podejmuje temat niepełnosprawności wywołanej przez epidemię polio, która dotknęła głównie dzieci w latach 50-tych. Już od najmłodszych lat chorzy byli konfrontowani ze strachem, jaki wywoływała ich niesprawność, a także z długim i męczącym procesem wątpliwej rehabilitacji.

Chomątowska i Stasiak zastanawiają się nad codziennością dzieci chorych i tym, jak choroba – i „leczenie” – wpłynęły na kształt ich życia. Oboje podchodzą do tematu z perspektywy biografii konkretnych osób i oddają głos tym, którym był on wcześniej odebrany.

Jak z osobistymi przeżyciami radzi sobie narracja reporterka, a jak opisują je narzędzia pojęciowe wypracowane przez historię społeczną? Co przeszłość ma do powiedzenia o dzieciach i chorobie, i dlaczego warto porozmawiać na ten temat z różnych perspektyw?

Wystąpili:

Beata Chomątowska autorka publikacji „Miasto dzieci świata”

Marcin Stasiak autor publikacji „Polio w Polsce 1945–1989. Studium z historii niepełnosprawności"

Prowadzenie: Małgorzata Pakier

Welcome speeches of the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 21 May 2024.

The Symposium was opened by Hanna Wróblewska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage; Robert Kostro, Director of the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw and Rafał Rogulski, Director of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Debate on ”Freedom as a current challenge for public history and civic education” from the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 21 May 2024. How do contemporary conflicts shape our understanding of history? How can we navigate the complexities of freedom in public discourse? What new policy priorities can we implement to foster more informed civic education on the challenges of freedom in European and global societies?

Panellists:

Maria Luz Martínez Seijo, Congress of Deputies of Spain, Madrid

Georgiy Kasianov, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin

Barbara Walshe, Dialogue and Restorative Justice Faciliator, Expertise Support at the ENRS

Moderation: Rafał Rogulski, European Network Remembrance and Solidarity

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Opening Panel “Grand narratives and conceptualisations of freedom” from the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. How is freedom understood in national narratives of the past? How does it go beyond these frameworks and how are narratives of civil rights and liberties, minority rights, freedom of speech or freedom of religion told and conceptualised?

Panellists:

Simina Badica, House of European History, Brussels

Barbara Glück, Mauthausen Memorial

Robert Kostro, Polish History Museum, Warsaw

Audrey Whitty, National Library of Ireland, Dublin

Moderation: Dorottya Baczoni, House of Terror Museum, Budapest

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Case Studies on “Symbols of regained/lost freedom” presented at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. How is the memory of freedom commemorated in material public space? A showcase of projects by members of institutions, historians, memory researchers and cultural scientists.

Panellists:

Maria Axinte, Pitesti Prison Memorial Foundation, Pitesti

Anna Bernhardt, Kultura Paryska, Maisons-Laffitte

Vjeran Pavlaković, University of Rijeka

Ihor Poshyvailo, Maidan Museum, Kyiv

Florian Traussnig, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, Graz

Aleksandra Kumala, FestivALT, Kraków

Lead by Magdalena Żelazowska, ENRS, Warsaw

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Turbo presentations at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. During the turbo presentations, participants showcase their organisation or project to the symposium’s audience. Each speaker has up to 90 seconds. The topics have to be connected with the general theme of the symposium.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Panel discussion on “Historical education: freedom and modern technologies” at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. A meeting of educators, teachers and experts to discuss strategies and good practice in teaching about the past. How is history education different today, given the variety of teaching formats available? What are the challenges and opportunities it faces? Should free access to different sources of historical knowledge and (educational) tools, such as artificial intelligence or social media, be restricted?

Panellists:

Emma Nardi, International Council of Museums, Rome

Wojciech Soczewica, Auschwitz Memorial

Bistra Stoimenova, The European Association of History Educators, Hague

Elias Stouraitis, Ionian University, Korfu online

Moderation: Michał Przeperski, Polish History Museum, Warsaw

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Screening of the documentary “The Cold War Files” (2018) at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024.

Discussion of Rafał Rogulski with the author Andrzej Mietkowski.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Panel on “Participation in museums: shaping museum narratives” at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 22 May 2024. Museum representatives talk of their own experiences. Audience engagement (interactivity, participation, expectations of the public) and its impact on museum narratives. The commercialisation of cultural institutions and museums.

Panellists:

Martin Klimza, Museum of Victims of Communism, Košice

Paolo Pezzino, National Museum of Resistance in Milan

Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt, Malmö University

Karolina Ziębińska-Lewandowska, Museum of Warsaw

Moderation: John Beauchamp, Free Range Productions, Warsaw

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Summary and round table discussion on “Freedom and Remembrance in the intergenerational dialogue” at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 24 May 2024. How does the memory of freedom evolve? How is it understood and remembered by the generations that have lived through totalitarianisms? What are the similarities and the differences between successive generations when it comes to thinking about and cultivating freedom?

Panellists:

Łukasz Kamiński, National Ossoliński Institute, Wrocław

Laura Kolbe, University of Helsinki

Martin Andreller, Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, Tallinn

Miloš Řezník, German Historical Institute Warsaw

Moderation: Hanna Liubakova, journalist, Belarus

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

Closing remarks at the 12th European Remembrance Symposium on 24 May 2024. The Symposium was closed by Laura Kolbe from the University of Helsinki; Heta Hedman the Secretary General of Historians without Borders in Finland; Robert Kostro, Director of the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw and Rafał Rogulski, Director of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

The event was co-funded by Central European Initiative - CEI

On the first day of the 12th European Remembrance Symposium, we had the pleasure of celebrating Professor Jan Rydel, a long-time collaborator and friend of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.

As a token of our appreciation for his work and dedication, he received the joint publication “In the Service of History and Politics: Bronowice - Cracow - Berlin - Warsaw - A Jubilee Book Dedicated to Prof. Jan Rydel on the 65th Anniversary of His Birth,” published by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity in cooperation with the Scientific Society Societas Vistulana.

Reportaż “Czystka” Katarzyny Surmiak-Domańskiej to detektywistyczna próba odnalezienia przemilczanej przeszłości najbliższych członków rodziny, podczas której odkrywane są międzypokoleniowe traumy. Osobista historia autorki okazuje się jednak historią uniwersalną, opisującą rodzinne trudności (nie tylko) Kresowian.

W swojej nowej publikacji “Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości” Michał Bilewicz opisuje psychologię Polaków i Polek: nasze traumy, wierzenia i lęki, a zarazem pokazuje, że jako mieszkańcy Traumalandu nie jesteśmy odosobnieni w swoich przeżyciach. Ta książka to podręcznik pozwalający zrozumieć naszą przeszłość i dający wskazówki, jak się z nią uporać.

Publikacje Surmiak-Domańskiej i Bilewicza to punkt wyjścia do dyskusji o tym, co składa się na nas - Polki i Polaków. Jak pamiętamy i jak ta pamięć na nas wpływa? Co lepiej pozwala zrozumieć nasze modus operandi – reporterska wnikliwość czy psychologiczny sznyt?

Wystąpili:

Katarzyna Surmiak-Domańska, "Czystka"

Michał Bilewicz, "Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości"

Prowadzenie: Małgorzata Pakier