This international conference aims at the issue of post-war transformation in a wider European context. The focus here is on cities not only as places, but also as actors of social, cultural, economic and political processes.

Main conference organiser: Prague City Museum

Cooperating institutions: Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences; The Twentieth Century Memorial Museum; Faculty of Education of Charles University, National Theatre, National Film Archive & Czech Association of Museums and Galleries

Date: May 5–6, 2025

Venue: The Prague City Museum's Main Building (Na Poříčí 1554/52, Praha 8, Czechia)

E-mail: conference1945@muzeumprahy.cz

Argument

The conference focuses on contemporary research on issues related to the end of World War II and and post-war transformations in the Czech, Czechoslovak, and broader European contexts. The primary attention aims on cities and towns, which are viewed not only as important sites of historical events but also as the key actors in social, cultural, political, and economic processes.

This meeting offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary discussions and the confrontation of various thematic areas and approaches, as well as the presentation of current scientific research projects. The conference also aims to contribute to cross-border dialogue and deepen international cooperation between academic and memory institutions.

Considering different points of view, methods, and perspectives, it would be great to present the papers from the multiple academic disciplines, including history, political science, sociology, urban anthropology, cultural studies, art history, museum pedagogy and economics.

Topics of interest

(not necessarily exactly according to these points)

Cities on the way to the end of conflict

• The end of World War II in broader geopolitical contexts
• Forms of anti-Nazi resistance and combat operations in the Czech and European contexts – sabotage, diversionary actions, and resistance movements
• Uprisings and anti-occupation demonstrations – their actors, sites, and course; comparisons across European regions (e.g. Warsaw, Paris, Milan, Genoa), the situation in the Czech lands and Slovakia
• The politics of occupation administration at the end of the war, the circumstances of German capitulation
• Allied forces and their prolonged presence in occupied areas
• Retribution
• The liberation and the end of World War II as a subject of post-war propaganda
• Reflection of war experiences

Cities on the Threshold of Post-War Transformation

• Development of post-war local governments in 1945–1948; the role of national committees
• The post-war economy, the process of nationalization
• Specifics of the rationing system in the wartime and beyond
• Post-war healthcare (state policy, organization of medical care and health services in cities, the role of humanitarian organizations)
• Wartime and post-war education

Social Aspects of Post-War Development

• Demographic developments from regional and micro-regional perspectives after 1945
• Everyday life in post-war cities (housing, holidays, festivities, sports…)
• The position of women during the war and beyond
• Ethnic homogenization and the status of the German population in Czechoslovakia
• Forced migration and regional specifics of the expulsion process
• Reflection of post-war realities from the perspective of expelled and non-expelled German populations
• The process of re-emigration of civilians
• The phenomenon of violence and its forms in the post-war period
• The activities and role of humanitarian organizations
• The decline of the legal concept of domicile and its impact on life in towns

The Nylon Age (1945–1948) in Culture

• Cultural and memory institutions at the end of the war and on the threshold of the post-war era
• Inter Arma Silent Musae? – Wartime and post-war film, theatre, and music production
• The image of the end of World War II in the arts
• The trajectory and restoration of objects and historical artifacts after 1945
• Post-war commemoration in art (memorials, statues, monuments)
• Television and radio broadcasting
• Changes in education and memory policies

The End of World War II and the Post-War Period as an Educational Theme

• Educational approaches and methods
• The use of film in teaching history and social science subjects
• Education and memory sites
• School and museum collaborations in the sphere of educational programmes

Organizational Guidelines

Please send the abstracts of your papers (200–300 words) along with a brief biography and institutional affiliation, via email address conference1945@muzeumprahy.cz

by December 31, 2024.

• The conference papers should not be longer than 20 minutes.
• The working languages of the conference and all submissions: Czech, English.
• You will be informed about the acceptance or rejection of your submission by January 15, 2025. The organizers reserve the right to choose the proposals.
• The articles will be published after a double-blind peer-review process in the conference volume. Some papers may also be submitted for peer-review in journals such as Studia Musei Pragensis (formerly Historica Pragensia), Soudobé dějiny /Czech Journal of Contemporary History, or Marginalia Historica.
• Deadline of registration of participants without papers: April 30, 2025.
• A cultural program accompanying the conference is being prepared, and participants will be informed of the details in due course.
• If you have any questions, please contact us via e-mail conference1945@muzeumprahy.cz.

Conference fee

500,- CZK / 20,- EUR (covers coffee breaks and organizational expenses during the two- or three-day programme)

Conference Organizing Committee

• Mgr. Bohuslav Rejzl, Ph.D. (Prague City Museum)
• Mgr. Magdaléna Šustová (Prague City Museum) 
• Mgr. et Mgr. Zdenko Maršálek, Ph.D. (Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences)
• PhDr. Ing. Jana Kasíková, Ph.D. (Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences)
• PhDr. Stanislav Kokoška, Ph.D. (Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes)
• Mgr. Karolína Stegurová, Ph.D. (National Theatre in Prague)
• Prof. PhDr. Jiří Pokorný, CSc. (Faculty of Education, Charles University)
• PhDr. Petr Blažek, Ph.D. (The Twentieth Century Memorial Museum)
• Mgr. Petr Chlebec (Commission of History, Czech Association of Museums and Galleries)