User:Hitreza/Memory of Nations

Memory of Nations is an international collection of testimonies related to important historical events of the 20th century. The main coordinator of the project is the Post Bellum non-profit organisation. Other sponsors are the Czech Radio and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The archive was launched on 28 October 2008. It is available in the Internet archive of the same name, which is being built by individuals and organisations from the Czech Republic and other countries.

Objectives

The aim of the Memory of the Nation is to make the individual testimonies of witnesses available to the public so that they can be easily consulted by experts and lay people interested in modern history. “The archive is accessible to all visitors of the Memory of Nations portal. It contains stories of witnesses based on audio or video recordings of their recollections. ”

Arrival of the transport at the gas chambers. Many of those photographed were not given the opportunity to tell their story.

The Oral history method

The project uses the method of oral history, which is “a sound recording of historical information, obtained through an interview that preserves a person’s life history or eyewitness account of a past experience.”[1] This method is a suitable complement to other sources (e.g. archives), and its importance is irreplaceable in cases where direct sources on a given topic have not survived or are not available. The recollections and narratives of participants make an invaluable contribution to filling this gap. They broaden the factual base and, together with other sources, serve to analyse historical facts. However, the oral history method is not only concerned with the acquisition of facts; an important aspect of it is the subject of the interview and his or her individual message, personal experiences, decision-making in complex and everyday situations, and personal motivations.

Origins of the project

The idea of creating a platform where individual research outputs could be stored, shared and compared in digital form arose in 2006 and 2007 during negotiations between several Czech institutions, all of which in some way archive the memories of survivors. These include associations such as Post Bellum, Czech Radio, The Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Military History Institute of Prague, Jewish Museum in Prague, NGO Živá paměť, or the Municipal Museum of Ústí nad Labem.

The Memory of the Nation web portal was launched on 28 October 2008 and its main sponsors are three Czech institutions: Post Bellum, Czech Radio and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.

Current form of the project

In 2023, Memory of Nations contributed to archive the memories of more than 16,000 witnesses from Czech and international projects, each with its own methodology. The recordings are published only if the witnesses agree to it. Registration is required to access the full content of the archive.The largest project involved is Stories of the 20th Century, implemented by Post Bellum. These are audio and video recordings of the memories of veterans of the Second World War, anti-Nazi resistance fighters, Holocaust victims, political prisoners of the 1950s and later, clergymen, dissidents and members of minorities. In addition, the archive also contains testimonies of officials of the executive branch - KGB, NKVD, StB agents, political officials and others.From the very beginning, the Memory of Nations initiative has been joined by organisations and individuals who have been recording the memories of survivors, not only from the Czech Republic but from all over Europe. Among the Czech partners are the Ethnographic Museum in Slaný, Junák –the Union of Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Czech Republic–, the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University in Prague, and Antikomplex –NGO dedicated to critical reflection on the history of the Czech lands, including post-war ethnic cleansing and Sudeten lands forcible transfers–. Foreign partners also include the Institute of Memory of the Nation (Slovakia), Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution (Hungary), Johannes Gutenberg University (Germany), Arbeit und Leben Bayern (Germany), Sighet Memorial (Hungary), Post Bellum SK (Slovakia), Istrian Historical Society (Croatia) and many others.

Post Bellum has organised more than 150 exhibitions throughout Europe.  In May-July 2012, a replica of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp was erected on Charles Square in Prague as part of an exhibition on the 70th anniversary of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

Memory of Nations Institutes

Description

Memory of Nations Institutes (MNI) introduce a contemporary multimedia exhibition centered around the history of the 20th century and the narratives of individuals who directly experienced the grip of totalitarian regimes. Those institutes are thus dedicated spaces allocated for the documentation of the memories and personal testimonies of witnesses to the 20th century. These testimonies come from the archived Memory of Nations collection, and dedicated to safeguarding these remembrances for forthcoming generations to explore and utilize in journalistic pieces, exhibits, literary works, and other forms of media.

Opening of Memory of Nations Institutes

On 15 March 2022, Post Bellum celebrated the inauguration of the first Memory of Nations Institute in Pardubice. The institute core exhibition is Quiet Heroes, narrating authentic tales from the 20th century, using a blend of projections, unconventional effects, augmented reality, and interactive displays. This allows visitors to immerse themselves in World War II alongside two witnesses, Jaryna Mlchová and Tomáš Sedláček. Three themed workshops are available: "Jews in the Protectorate," "The Second Resistance," or "Political Prisoners."

Post Bellum's second Memory of Nations Institute opened on the 22nd of March 2022. The Olomouc MNI debuted with an audiovisual exhibit titled "Revealed Stories of the 20th Century," spotlighting the gripping life stories of five witnesses to the ravages of war and the era of Communism in the Olomouc Region.

Eventually, on the same year was inaugurated the Brno Memory of Nations Institute. Post Bellum orchestrated 47 public events at the institute's city-center location, situated at Radnická 10. These encompassed discussions featuring war veteran Roman Kopřiva, author Pavel Kosatík, and historian Denisa Nečasová. During the autumn months, debates were convened with three of the nation's presidential candidates –Danuše Nerudová, Marek Hilšer, and Pavel Fischer–.

Projects related to Memory of Nations

Memory of Nations Awards

Since 2010, the Memory of the Nation Awards have been presented annually on 17 November. The award recipients are selected from the archives of memorials by an expert jury and are individuals whose fates should not be forgotten and whose attitudes deserve recognition, whether they are war veterans, Holocaust survivors, or former political prisoners and dissidents.

Run for the Memory of the Nation

A charity run whose proceeds go to filming political prisoners, war veterans, Holocaust victims, dissidents, all freedom fighters. It is always held in May in Prague and other cities.

War Veterans Day

A public collection on the occasion of War Veterans Day, which is celebrated on 11 November mainly in Anglo-Saxon countries. Its symbol is the poppy flower, which is stitched into the lapel to express respect and remembrance for former soldiers and warriors.

Radio programme Stories of the 20th Century

The documentary series Stories of the 20th Century, based on the stories of witnesses of the Memory of the Nation portal, is broadcasted by Czech Radio. Between 2006 and 2012 it was broadcast on the station Česko, and since February 2013 the cycle has been broadcast on Radiožurnál and Czech Radio +.

Memory of the Nation Magazine

An online magazine that presents stories from the Memory of the Nation collection. In 2022, the magazine's publications were dedicated to delving into Ukraine's struggles during the shadow of two fearsome totalitarian regimes – Hitler's Germany and Stalin's USSR. Other articles dissecting social phenomena from the era of Communist Czechoslovakia garnered substantial popularity. in the year 2022, Memory of Nations Magazine had more than 3,2 millions readers.

Places of Memory of the Nation

Places of Memory of the Nation is a mobile app that makes events directly accessible to smartphone users in the places where they took place. When turned on, the app shows the user the locations in their area that are associated with each story. Each event record is then accompanied by an audio recording containing a narrative by a witness of the event.