Entitled History Speaks Across Generations, the conference is organised by Poland’s state-run Institute for National Remembrance (IPN).
It aims to bring together Polish and foreign historians, journalists and bloggers, as well as officials from agencies tasked with researching totalitarian systems and memorialising their victims, according to the IPN.
The programme of the three-day event comprises 26 panel discussions on various aspects of 20th-century history, focusing on both Poland and the wider region of central Europe, state news agency PAP reported.
Billed as the first event of its kind, the conference will also feature history-themed games, exhibitions, workshops and film screenings, officials told reporters.
'History for Remembrance'
On Thursday, a panel discussion entitled History for Remembrance was expected to bring together speakers including sociologist Barbara Fedyszak Radziejowska, an aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda, and Zdzisław Krasnodębski, a Polish member of the European Parliament, the PAP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, a debate on The Policy of Remembrance and Historical Policy: The Experiences of Central and Eastern European Countries Through the Eyes of Heads of Institutions, was expected to feature participants including IPN chief Karol Nawrocki, Réka Földváryné Kiss from Hungary’s Nemzeti Emlékezet Bizottsága and Ladislav Kudrna from the Czech Republic’s Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů, among others.
On Friday, one of the debates will focus on War Reparations in the 20th Century Through the Eyes of Politicians, with speakers including Polish Deputy Culture Minister Jarosław Sellin and Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk.
Book awards, new survey
On Thursday, Poland's IPN was set to hand out its first Signet Ring Awards for books of the year.
The prizes will be presented annually "for the best books published by the agency over the past 12 months, from monographs to albums and memoirs," according to officials.
Other planned highlights of the conference included the unveiling of a new survey, called History for Remembrance, the PAP news agency reported.
Researchers polled 6,000 people representing three groups: high school students, adults over 20 years of age, and history teachers, the IPN said.
One of the survey’s key findings is that 59 percent of high school students and 15 percent of adults "draw knowledge of history from the internet and computer games," officials said.
Meanwhile, just 8 percent of high school students said knowledge of history was “not necessary in life” and there was “no point teaching it,” the PAP news agency reported.
Echoes of Katyn film festival
As part of the Congress, the IPN is also staging the 4th International Film Festival on Totalitarianisms, entitled Echoes of Katyn.
A collection of 26 films will be screened over three days, including A House Made of Splinters, an Oscar-nominated documentary about an orphanage in Ukraine’s war-ravaged Donbas region.
Also in the selection are Klondike, Ukraine’s official entry for Best International Feature Oscar, and Black Ceiling, a Polish drama depicting an episode in the life of émigré anti-communist author Józef Mackiewicz, the PAP news agency reported.
The Congress of National Remembrance takes place at the National Stadium in Warsaw under the auspices of Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Public broadcaster Polish Radio is a media partner the event.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, IPN