To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the events of 1956 in Poland and Hungary, the Institute of National Remembrance, the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science, the Warsaw University, the Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the Former German Democratic Republic and the Foundation for the Research on the SED Dictatorship are organizing an international conference "Crises of the Communist System 1953-1981". The conference will be held in Warsaw on October 20-21, 2006. The conference will proceed in the Old Library of Warsaw University (Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28).

The conference’s main purpose is to present the events of 1956 in a wider perspective of other crises of the communist system - from mass protests in the GDR in 1953 to the crisis in Poland in 1980s. The second, not less important goal is to summarize the current state of research on the history of crises of the communist system, to facilitate cooperation between institutions and individuals involved in the research on this topic and to raise public awareness of the subject matter.

The official languages of the conference will be English, German and Polish with consecutive interpretation.

The conference’s programme will also include panel discussions, an exhibition on crises of communist system in Poland (1956-1981), as well as screening of documentary films about the 1956 crises in Poland and Hungary.

All conference events will be open to the public with free admission.

For additional information, please contact: Anna Piekarska, phone: +48.22.431.83.70, anna.piekarska@ipn.gov.pl.

Detailed information about the conference is also available at: www.ipn.gov.pl

PROGRAMME

20 October 2006 (Friday)

9.00-10.30 - Opening of the conference and a keynote lecture by Dr László Borhi (Hungary, Institute of History, Hungarian Academy of Sciences), The year 1956 in global politics

10.30-13.00 - Session "Communism in 1956 - between East and West"
Chair - Prof. Christoph Klessmann (Germany, Universität Potsdam)

• Dr Aleksandr Stykalin (Russia, Institute for Slavic and Balkan Studies), 1956 - the Soviet viewpoint

• Dr Andrei Lankov (Australia, Australian National University), Korea 1956 - failure of destalinisation

• Dr Muriel Blaive (France, French Center for Research in Social Sciences, CEFRES), Czechoslovakia 1956 - the frozen thaw

• Prof. Chen Jian (USA, Cornell University), China vis-a-vis the events of 1956

• PD Dr Thomas Großbölting (Germany, Office of Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR), The French and Italian communist parties vis-a-vis the crisis of 1956

13.00-15.00 - Lunch break

15.00-17.00 - Panel discussion "Why Did the Communist System not Fall in 1956"

• Moderator - Dr Jiri Pernes (Czech Republic, Institute of Contemporary History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic)

• Participants: Dr hab. Paweł Machcewicz (Poland, Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science), Dr Christian F. Ostermann (USA, Cold War International History Project), Dr János Tischler (Hungary, Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution), Prof. Charles Gati (USA, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University)

17.00-17.15 - Coffee break

17.15-19.15 - Film presentation (documentaries on 1956 crises in Poland and Hungary followed by a discussion with the participation of the films’ directors)


21 October 2006 (Saturday)

9.00-10.45 - Session "Causes of the Communist System Crises"
Chair - Dr Krzysztof Persak (Poland, Institute of National Remembrance)

• Attila Szakolczai (Hungary, Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution), Origins of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956

• Dr Oldřich Tůma (Czech Republic, Institute of Contemporary History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), Causes of the Prague Spring

• Prof. Janusz Kaliński (Poland, Warsaw School of Economics), Economic aspects of crises of the communist system in Poland 1956-1980

10.45-11.00 - Coffee break

11.00-13.30 - Session "The Power Apparatuses and Societies vis-a-vis Crises in the Soviet Bloc"
Chair - PD Dr Thomas Großbölting (Germany, Office of Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR)

• Dr Roger Engelmann (Germany, Office of Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR), The lesson of 1956 crises for GDR authorities

• Prof. Mihai Retegan (Romania, University of Bucharest), Romania vis-a-vis the Prague Spring

• Dr Michael Kubina (Germany, Freie Univeristät), The GDR vis-a-vis the Prague Spring and the Polish crisis 1980/1981

• Dr Łukasz Kamiński (Poland, Institute of National Remembrance), Polish People’s Republic authorities and the Polish society vis-a-vis the crises of 1953, 1956 and 1968

• Prof. Jane Curry (USA, Santa Clara University), Polish Elites: Dealing with the Crises of Communism from the Top

13.30-15.30 - Lunch break

15.30-17.15 - Session "Consequences of Communist System Crises"
Chair - Dr hab. Jan Żaryn (Poland, Institute of National Remembrance)

• Dr Ilko-Sasha Kowalczuk (Germany, Office of Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR), Re-orientation of SED policy as a result of the 1953 uprising

• Prof. György Péteri (Norway, Norwegian University of Science & Technology), Political Power and Social Science Knowledge under State Socialism. Crises and Restructuring in Hungary, 1953-1968

• Dr hab. Antoni Dudek (Poland, Institute of National Remembrance), The crisis of the communist system in Poland in 1980s

17.15-17.30 - Coffee break

17.30-19.30 - Panel discussion "Crises - Crippling or Strengthening of the Communist System"

• Moderator - Prof. Andrzej Paczkowski (Poland, Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science)

• Participants: Dr Anthony Kemp-Welch (Great Britain, University of East Anglia), Prof. Jerzy Eisler (Poland, Institute of National Remembrance), Dr Petr Blažek (Czech Republic, Institute of Contemporary History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), Prof. Christoph Klessmann (Germany, Universität Potsdam)