Milan Štěch, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
Jan Hamáček, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
Tibor Pető, Ambassador of Hungary to the Czech Republic and
The Platform of European Memory and Conscience
cordially invite to a
Conference on the 60th anniversary of the 1956 revolution and freedom fight in Hungary
22 September 2016
Main Hall of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
Valdštejnské nám. 4, 118 00 Praha 1, entry through reception C2
SYNOPSIS
The main aim of this conference is on one hand to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 1956 revolution and freedom fight against the Soviet oppression and occupation in Hungary; on the other hand to give a broader comparative insight into the analogous uprisings throughout the region in the 1950s and their possible impact of the democratisation attempt of what we call Prague Spring. What was common in the 1953 Berlin, the 1956 Poznań and Budapest uprisings? Why did the revolutions in different countries lead to a different outcome? How did these attempts determine the following decades in the life of the respective Communist countries? What was common in these revolutions and why did a revolution not take place in the Czech Republic? How does the common history of the countries in the region determine their present role/position in the European Union?
PROGRAMME
9.00-9.10
Greetings
Milan Štěch – President of the Senate
Jan Hamáček – President of the Chamber of Deputies
Tibor Pető – Ambassador of Hungary in Prague
9.10-9.20
Opening address
Cardinal Dominik Duka
9.20-9.50
Keynote speeches
Dr. Zsolt Németh – Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Hungary
Karel Schwarzenberg – Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic
Prof. Václav Hampl – Chairman of the EU Affairs Committee of the Senate
9.50-11.30
Panel I. Historical parallels and differences among the Central European countries’ attempts to overcome the Soviet oppression
Moderator: Dr. Neela Winkelmann (CZ), Managing Director, Platform of European Memory and Conscience
Dr. Naděžda Kavalírová (CZ) fomer political prisoner, President of the Confederation of Political Prisoners of the Czech Republic – Reminiscences of an eye witness and victim of the 50s’ Czechoslovakia
Prof. Rainer Eckert (DE) historian – June 17, 1953. What led to the uprising in East Germany, its course and consequences
Dr. Paweł Ukielski (PL) historian, Warsaw Rising Museum – Poznań June 1956 – limited uprising?
Prof. Sándor M. Kiss (HU) historian, Vice Director General, Research Institute and Archives for the History of the Hungarian regime change – Roads to 1956
Dr. Jaroslav Šebek (CZ) Historical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences –The Czechoslovak year of 1956. Similarities and differences comparing to Central-European events
11.30-12.00
Coffee
12.00-13.30
Panel II. The unchangeability of the Communist system
Moderator: Dr. Neela Winkelmann (CZ), Managing Director, Platform of European Memory and Conscience
Dr. László Bukovszky (SK) historian, Government commissioner for minorities – The international assistance of the ŠtB during the revolution and after its crushing
Prof. Károly Szerencsés (HU) historian, Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest – The Communist system in Hungary in light of the revolution
Dr. Petr Blažek (CZ) historian, Centre for Documentation of Totalitarian Regimes – Prague Spring 1968 – possibilities and limits
Rev. László Tőkés (RO) leader of the Romanian revolution of 1989, Member of the European Parliament – Counter-revolution in Romania
13.30-15.00
Lunch
Sponsored by the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight 60th Anniversary Memorial Board
PHOTO GALLERY
