The time of the communist dictatorship left painful traces in the lives of many Romanians. It has also deformed social structures and processes to this day. At the same time, of course, many also have memories of beautiful experiences and loved ones from that time. Sometimes nostalgia overrides knowledge about crimes and suffering. For various reasons, it has not always been possible to deal with the communist dictatorship in Romania in sufficient depth and breadth. A new generation of Romanians is now asking what role the past plays in their lives and the present. A responsibility for the future derives from the communist past: Democracy must be defended again and again against auto-terrorist attacks.
What are we doing concretely in 2023?
Together with renowned Romanian scholars and scientists and our partners University Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca and Fundația Academia Civică, we organise a summer school for students and doctoral candidates in Sighet every year. This year we are focusing specifically on the situation of national minorities during the communist era.
We are also working with the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca on a pilot project to make historical knowledge accessible to the interested public. Within the framework of several city tours, information about the history of communism in Cluj-Napoca is conveyed by means of augmented reality.
In a joint project with the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Bucharest, we provide students with the necessary broad political-historical background knowledge to classify current political developments in Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe within the framework of the lecture series "Solutions for tomorrows challenges". Only those who are familiar with the methods and patterns of authoritarian systems from the past can recognize and resist their application in the present - even if they are "re-dressing" themselves.
As part of the work with our KAS scholarship holders, we enable young people from all over Eastern Europe to visit Romanian places of remembrance of the crimes of communism. As part of a social media project, they will document their experiences for other young Europeans.
In addition, we are working on a "State of Affairs: Communist Dictatorship in Romania". We would like to provide an overview of what has been achieved in the last few years or decades and what tasks Romanian experts feel are still open. We are also happy to offer briefings on the topic for interested groups from Germany.
