International Conference on the role of East-Central Europe in the Cold War
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the downfall of the communist regimes in East-Central Europe and the end of the Cold War, the Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Czech Republic are organizing an international conference entitled DROPPING, MAINTAINING AND BREAKING THE IRON CURTAIN: The Cold War and East-Central Europe Twenty Years Later (20 and 21 Novermber 2009). Renowned historians from both sides of the former Iron Curtain divide will utilize two decades of research in the field to answer and evaluate questions about the role of East-Central Europe in the Cold War, the origins and end of the bipolar conflict, and the consequences of the Cold War for the 21st century. The following historians (among others) have promised to participate: Oliver Bange, Csaba Békés, Thomas Blanton, László Borhi, Anne Deighton, Leonid Gibianskij, Jussi M. Hanhimäki, Hope M. Harrison, James Hershberg, David Holloway, Michael Hopkins, Mark Kramer, Richard Ned Lebow, Petr Luňák, Timothy Naftali, Vladimír Nálevka, Christian F. Ostermann, Silvio Pons, Vilém Prečan, Svetlana Savranskaya, Bernd Schäfer, Georges-Henri Soutou, Dariusz Stola, Soňa Szomolányi, William Taubman, Odd Arne Westad, John W. Young. Before the conference itself, on 19 November 2009, witnesses who were directly involved in dramatic moments of the Cold War will take part in a general discussion of these events, and this will be followed by an assessment of the question: “How Well Did the Cold War Experience Prepare East-Central European Countries for Membership in NATO and the EU?“. All the proceedings will be held in English. From 15 October 2009, it will be possible to enrol for the conference through the website of the Institute of Contemporary History.
