"Demokratizačná akcia"

Študentské čistky na slovenských vysokých školách na prelome rokov 1948 a 1949

Author(s): Marta Glossová / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 2-3/2019

In her study, the authoress examines one of the ways the newly established Communist regime in Czechoslovakia was using since February 1948 in an attempt to build new loyal elites and to prevent the formation of non-conformist ones. The topic is the screening of study results and political reliability of Slovak university students, which took place at the turn of 1948 and 1949 under the euphemistic name “democratization campaign” or simply “democratization”. The authoress sets the campaign into a broader political framework and into the context of the ideological discourse of those days. In doing so, she compares it to a parallel, so-called “study screening” in the Czech Lands, and also sets it in the context of multiple waves of the “purging” of Slovak universities between 1948 and 1960, showing its connection with a subsequent purge launched in 1950 as part of a campaign against the so-called Slovak bourgeois nationalism. Using results of her research in Slovak archives, she describes and summarizes the organization, course, and outcome of the “democratization campaign”. The screening used both criteria related to study results (employed primarily to justify the screening) and political criteria (reflecting the true objective of the screening process); a combination of these two groups of criteria ultimately produced several categories of students. Every student was either cleared and allowed to study on, or expelled – either temporarily, for two to three semesters during which he or she was expected to work in production, or permanently. It should be noted that there existed substantial differences in numbers of expelled students among various universities and faculties, and the authoress is trying to find an explanation. Compared to the outcome of the “study screening” in the Czech Lands, that of the “democratization campaign” in Slovakia was generally more lenient, often falling short of radical expectations of its organizers. The authoress claims that Slovakia’s outcome reflects three factors: lack of and need for skilled experts in various fields compared to the Czech Lands, the weak position of the Communist Party among students and teachers at some Slovak universities, and the existence of an Appeal Commission at the Slovak Ministry of Education, Sciences and Arts which reversed or changed many expulsion rulings. The Appeal Commission’s chairman Ernest Otto and the Commissioner of Education, Communist writer Ladislav Novomeský (1904–1976), thus found themselves in a conflict with leaders of the University Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia, their more liberal approach to the “democratization campaign” contributing to their political and criminal persecution in the 1950s.

"Marshallův plán pro mysl" za železnou oponou

Author(s): Martin Nekola / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2022

Alfred Alexander Reisch’s "Horké knihy ve studené válce: Program tajné distribuce knih ze Západu za železnou oponu financovaný CIA" published by Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů – originally published in English as "Hot Books in the Cold War: The CIA-Funded Secret Western Book Distribution Program Behind the Iron Curtain" (Budapest, Central European University Press 2013) – is the subject of this review. Reisch is an American political scientist of Hungarian origin, and he is also one of the protagonists of the book. The classified project of distributing books, magazines and other publications to the Eastern Bloc countries, which developed under the auspices of the Free Europe Committee (FEC) and with covert CIA funding, lasted from the mid-1950s to the late 1980s. During this time, according to Reisch, some ten million publications of various genres, from political and scientific literature to fiction, art books and dictionaries to fashion magazines, were sent across the Iron Curtain in inventive ways. The project’s organizers avoided shallow propaganda and, with the help of several covert organizations, targeted mainly intellectuals and students, opposition and regime elites and selected institutions. The reviewer admires Reisch for being the first to reconstruct, from fragmentarily preserved sources and interviews with witnesses, the history of the “mail project”, which, according to the reviewer, was one of the most successful and effective tools of American foreign policy in the Cold War. Despite some shortcomings, the book provides a wide range of previously unknown information and draws the reader into the plot like a spy novel.

"Zelené kádry" jako radikální alternativa pro venkov na západním Slovensku a ve středovýchodní Evropě 1917 - 1920

Author(s): Jakub Beneš / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2015

This article explores the phenomenon of the ‘Green Cadres' at the end of the First World War in Austria-Hungary, with a focus on events in western Slovakia 1918-1920. The Green Cadres were bands of army deserters and radicalized peasants who hid in the forests and mountains of the monarchy during the last year of the war and then violently attempted to topple the social-political order in many localities as the state collapsed. The article suggests that they represented both the last major episode of peasant unrest in the region and a radical new attempt by the rural common people to influence the character of national and social politics in the interwar period. The nationalist dimension of this loose social movement appears to have been particularly strong in western Slovakia and may indicate some affiliation with the leaders of Slovak Catholic populism. On the other hand, the inability of nationalist elites to coopt the Green Cadres was in part responsible for their marginalization in narratives of Czechoslovak liberation as well as in contemporary historiography. On the basis of sources in Slovak, Czech, Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, and German, this study argues that the Slovak case of the Green Cadres fits into a broader transnational phenomenon, which sheds new light on the history of East Central Europe in the twentieth century.

"И българските евреи бяха спасени..." Погледи отвън и отвътре върху българската история

Author(s): Irina Nedeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 12/2022

We publish a conversation of the journalist Irina Nedeva with Roumen Avramov, economist and historian, on the occasion of the Bulgarian translation of Nadège Ragaru’s book ‘Et les Juifs bulgares furent sauvés…’. Une histoire des savoirs sur la Shoah en Bulgarie’, Sciences Po. Les Presses, 2020) (“And the Bulgarian Jews were saved...” History of knowledge about the Holocaust in Bulgaria”). The conversation was broadcast on November 8, 2022 in the “Horizont do obed” ("Horizon by noon") program of the Bulgarian National Radio; the text published here is a transcription of it. The questions have been preserved, and in the answers Rumen Avramov has made some stylistic edits, as well as brief substantive additions and clarifications

"Скорозрейно" и "нетрайно" ли е българското развитие?

Author(s): Hristo Matanov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

This paper analyses the critically well-known thesis of Prof. Peter Moutafchiev about the raises and falls in Bulgaria's development. We know that, counting the studies of the Russian scholar Alexander Hilferding, Prof. Moutafchiev came to the conclusion that Bulgaria's development was erratic and did not have periods of "peace" - everything featured rapid progress and equally rapid decline and crises. The Bulgarian scholar cited Serbia as an example of slower for more regular progrss. The author attempts to question the general validity of this opinion. First of all, it was dedicated by the historical period in which Prof. Moutafchiev lived and worked. Then Bulgarian history itself was transmitted under the influence of the notion that it consisted of a series of successes and failures. Serbia could hardly be a comparison factor as the main sources about its development are the vitas of its rulers written by their sons and close relatives. Third, there are hardly societies and countries on a European or world scale that have not been subject to the "historical sine" of which Moutafchiev speaks. The author of the article appeals for abandoning the romantic approach in reconstructing the Bulgarian past, which demands rapid events with a fatal outcome. Instead, he offers a narration based on Fernand Braudel's idea of continuity and longue duree.

13th Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe, Gdańsk, June 26–29, 2019

Author(s): Jörg Hackmann / Language(s): English Issue: 2 (26)/2019

On June 26–29, 2019, a large international conference was held in the Polish city of Gdansk — the 13th Baltic Research Conference in Europe. More than 150 reports were presented in 50 panels and round tables. The subjects were diverse, from the “History and Memory” section to “Politics and Society”, and even the problems of security in the Baltic region. Scientists from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, etc. took part in the historical sections. The next conference will be held in 2021 in Uppsala.

13th International Congress of Thracology Ancient Thrace: Myth and Reality, Kazanlak, 2-7 September 2017

Author(s): Miroslav Izdimirski,Ruja Popova / Language(s): English Issue: 23-24/2017

140 години "Български народни песни" от братя Миладинови. Отзвук и значение

Author(s): Milka Miladinova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2001

The Miladinovi Brothers’ notable folklore work was highly appreciated even in the first years after it had been issued in Zagreb in 1861. Proofs of this fact are the immediate responses, reviews and other reactions, including the publication of translations of certain songs in different countries.

145 години БАН – предизвикателства и перспективи

„История на БАН“, част първа (1869 – 1947). Под редакцията на Илия Тодев. София: Издателство на БАН „Проф. Марин Дринов“, 2015, ISBN 978-954-322-791-4

Author(s): Ilia Todev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2015

19. Yüzyıl Alman-Yahudi Oryantalizminde İslâm Algısı

Author(s): Necmettin Salih Ekiz / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 45/2022

In this study, the perception of Islam by 19th century German-Jewish orientalists is discussed. The study consists of four titles, excluding the introduction and conclusion. Firstly, general information about German orientalism is given, its relationship with imperialism and colonial activities is questioned, and attention is drawn to its connection with other orientalist traditions such as British and French. According to the researchers, the relationship of German orientalists with colonial activities was not as intense as the members of other orientalist traditions, so political factors remained in the background in their research, and they were able to adopt a more objective point of view. This was explained by Germany's relatively late participation in colonial activities. Therefore, it is important to determine the religious and socio-cultural factors in their perception of Islam. The beginning of German orientalism's involvement in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies dates to the first half of the 19th century. This was mostly carried out by the hand of German-Jewish orientalists. Thanks to them, there was a boom in orientalist Islamic studies, and this situation continued until the Second World War. In other words, German-Jewish orientalists had a vital importance for both German and Western orientalism. In the second section, the religious and socio-cultural positions of German-Jewish orientalists in the 19th century were examined, and the factors behind their participation in Islamic studies were tried to be determined.

1989 in China and Eastern Europe in Diachronic Perspective

Author(s): Martin K. Dimitrov / Language(s): English Issue: 44/2017

1989 г. в диахронна перспектива – Китай и Източна Европа

Author(s): Martin Dimitrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2016

20 години от смъртта на професор Любомир Панайотов

Author(s): Svetlozar Eldarov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

80 години Исторически музей – Самоков

Author(s): Albena Simova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

80 години от изграждането на Македонския културен дом

Author(s): Stoyan Germanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2010

A 16–17. századi baszkföldi és erdélyi boszorkányperek összehasonlítása

Author(s): Eszter Miklós / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017

This paper seeks to point out the characteristics of the witch hysteria and the view of witches in the Basque Country, which played an essential role in the cessation of witch-hunts and of burnings at the stake in Spain in 1614. It analyses the contrast between the characteristics of the Basque witch-hunts and those in Transylvania. The paper compares the typical view of witches in Transylvania, especially Cluj-Napoca, from the point of view of the people’s beliefs and of the elite’s demonology, by highlighting the characteristics of the view of witches in the area, the main types of accusations, the motives of the reports and the procedures against witches. By pointing out these characteristics, we can see how the demonistic and vampiristic notion of the view of witches in the Basque Country contributed to the cessation of the witch-hunts, and the circumstances in which witch-hunts intensified in Transylvania at about the same time.

A Bulgarian Student in Early XX Century Ukraine: Study, Lifestyle and Challenges

Author(s): Аndrii Chutkyi / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

The paper discusses the life of Konstantin Nikolov, a Bulgarian from the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa, during his study at the Kyiv Institute of Commerce (1909 – 1915). The very “insignificance” of this person allows for some wider generalizations, given the fact that precisely such people best reflect the society as a whole. For this reason, the study of ordinary people’s biographies has become an important focus of modern historiography. Nikolov’s student years illustrate some aspects of contemporary Bulgarian history and exemplify the experience of Bulgarian students in the Russian Empire before and during the World War I. The present study is based on archive materials previously untapped by scholars. It also involves some documents relative to Svitozar Drahomanov, who was of Ukrainian origin but spent his childhood in Bulgaria and studied at the Kyiv Institute of Commerce along with Nikolov, as well as documents regarding a trip to Bulgaria by Czesław Madej, another student of the same institute. The study demonstrates that archives of different Kyiv-based higher educational institutions should be explored for more valuable materials regarding Bulgarian born students, which may help draw a fuller picture of Bulgarian-Ukrainian relations in the field of education and culture. This, in turn, will contribute to a deeper understanding of the history of Ukrainian higher education in the early 20thcentury. It will also provide a wider perspective on the phenomenon of Bulgarians studying abroad before and during the World War I, including the life situations of the students during this period which proved crucial for the whole European civilization.

A Comparative Insight into Encounters, Territorialities, Identities, and Violence: Phoenicians in Southwestern Iberia and Portuguese in Africa

Author(s): Pedro Albuquerque / Language(s): English Issue: 14(43)/2021

By examining the relationship between territoriality and identity construction, this paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of three contexts where encounters between foreign colonial powers and local autochthonous communities took place. The comparison is thus focused on the interaction between Africans and Portuguese in two different contexts (São Jorge da Mina/ Elmina, Ghana between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries, and colonial Angola from the 1850’s onwards), on the one hand, and on the encounters between Phoenicians and Autochthonous communities of Southwestern Iberia (Tartessos?) in the first half of the first Millennium BC. This study raises new questions about the role played by sanctuaries and violence in the deconstruction of indigenous territorial perceptions and the subsequent construction of colonial territories in the Iron Age of Southwestern Iberia. Also in examination are the relevance and usefulness of a comparative methodology in the analysis of encounters between diverse cultural actors as expressed in the archaeological record.

A comparison between the experiences of integration and European unity with the experience of integration and the Arab unity

Author(s): Szijár Abu-Hantash / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2007

The questions of the integration in Europe and in the Arab World. Why did the experience of integration and European unity has succeed, at least, till now in spite of the few factors? Why did the Arabs experience in integration failed in spite of the many factors of integration and unity?

A comparison between two migrations in the Byzantine Empire: the Goths and the Pechenegs

Author(s): Alexandru Madgearu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

The study compares from several points of view two migratory movements across the Lower Danube: the Tervingi Goths in 376 and the Pechenegs in 1045-1047. In both cases the imperial authorities hoped they would gain supplementary military forces, but the events turned both migratory groups into internal enemies. There are some similarities in the causes of the aforementioned migrations, in the way the Danube was crossed, and as concerns the places granted for settlement, and the integration in the Roman /Byzantine army. In other respects, the movements differed, especially because of the nomadic type of life of the Pechenegs, the Goths being sedentary people who moved from a homeland to another. Both migrations had disastrous effects for the empire, because the emperors were not able to foresee or to prevent the rebellions of these warrior people received as refugees. Instead of more economic and military resources, both the Goths and the Pechenegs caused much trouble in the South-East European provinces.