International Workshop ‘Suppressed Historiography, Erased Memory?
International Workshop ‘Suppressed Historiography, Erased Memory?

The Perception of the Shoah in East Central Europe during Socialist Rule’

Summary/Abstract: An international workshop entitled Suppressed Historiography, Erased Memory? The Perception of the Shoah in East Central Europe during Socialist Rule was held in Halle, Germany, in late November and early December 2015. Its organizers – the Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies and the Jewish Museum in Prague – proceeded from the often-presented assumption that the Shoah was not a subject of historical research in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe during the period of Communist rule, as it was a taboo topic. One of the aims of this workshop was to critically assess this simplistic view. The topic of the Shoah was already heavily present in many historical works, newspaper articles, novels and survivor memoirs after the end of the Second World War. The organizers and participants of the workshop approached the question of how the Shoah was perceived in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe during the period of Communism as a dynamic process that was influenced by a large number of domestic and international factors. Among the main questions addressed were the following: How was the Shoah researched and commemorated in the Communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe? Was there a marked difference in this respect with regard to western countries? How was this issue discussed? Did the approach to this topic change over time? What role did local Jewish communities play in this regard?

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