CALL FOR PAPERS
International Conference
NKVD/KGB Activities and its Cooperation with other Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe 1945-1989, III
6-7 June 2013, Cracow (Kraków), Poland
The extensive security apparatus was the key element of the government system in all countries of the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe. The activity of these structures was not limited solely to internal repression and meticulous control of the societies. The various security forces formed a multinational community, whose patron was Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the notorious Cheka. The cooperation was an important, though hidden, policy tool in the entire Soviet bloc. The internal plan was aimed at counteracting forthcoming crises of the communist system and at fighting all forms of social resistance. The global plan entailed supporting Moscow's expansionist policy.
The planned conference will be devoted to the aforementioned issues. It is intended as a continuation of the series of very successful conferences on a similar topic held in Bratislava (2007) and Prague (2008).
Topics presented may include issues such as:
• participation of the Soviet security apparatus (NKVD/NKGB/MGB/KGB) in imposing and preserving the Communist rule and creating “fraternal” structures in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe;
• evolution of the Soviet secret service’s system of managing their counterparts from other countries at different stages of the Cold War;
• structures of the Soviet security apparatus concerned with the problems of the Central and Eastern Europe countries, their working methods and sources of information;
• cooperation mechanisms of the Soviet security apparatus structures with their counterparts in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, both multilateral, and bilateral;
• mechanisms of bilateral cooperation between the structures of national security forces;
• examples of operations (case studies) conducted jointly by the services of individual countries (e.g. in the field of fighting so called ideological subversion, the Church, intelligence, counterintelligence, etc.);
• examples of operations carried out by the services of one of the countries, however, of importance in the whole Soviet bloc (e.g. in relation to third countries or international organizations);
• exchange of information, including quality assessment of the information, or the use of such collaboration tools as SOUD;
• social, political and ideological layers and the everyday functioning of the security services community of the Communist bloc countries;
• the influence of the various Communist parties, especially the Communist Party of Soviet Union, on functioning of the security services community of the Communist bloc countries;
• specific character of the Soviet security services type (e.g. in comparison to the services of Western countries and the countries of the so-called Third World).
The list of issues is only an example. The suggested topics of papers should be the result of the original research work, if possible, based on source work and archival research.
The conference is organized by the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Poland), Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (Czech Republic), Office of the Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR (Germany) and Nation's Memory Institute (Slovakia).
The language of the conference will be Polish and English.
All those interested are encouraged to participate – both as presenters and as auditors. The conference organizers will cover the accommodation, meals, and travel expenses for the presenters.
Conference participation is free of charge.
The deadline for conference paper proposals (to be submitted on the attached form) is February 28, 2013. Please enclose, along with the proposal, an abstract of your paper of 500–700 words in Polish or English. The conference program will be made available by March 15, 2013.
Submissions should be sent to: anna.piekarska@ipn.gov.pl
or:
Anna Piekarska
Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
Biuro Edukacji Publicznej
ul. Towarowa 28, 00-839 Warszawa
POLAND
“Konferencja NKVD/KGB 2013”
fax: +48.22.431.83.80
For additional information please contact: anna.piekarska@ipn.gov.pl