Declassification Events
D-Archives: How Digitizing Declassified Documents Can Restore Ukraine’s National Memory and Build an Independent, Democratic Country
April 16, 2013 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm
Kennan Institute
Volodymyr Viatrovych, historian and former Director, Security Services of Ukraine Special State Archive Department, discussed how Ukraine’s future as an independent country and democratic society rests on the proposition that restoring the nation’s historical memory is a critically important precondition to overcome Ukraine’s Soviet past and to bring about national reconciliation.
Celebrating the Legacy of Daniel Patrick Moynihan: The Launch of "Moynihan's Moment," a New Book by Gil Troy
April 04, 2013 // 3:30pm — 5:00pm
History and Public Policy Program
McGill University Professor of History Gil Troy leads on expert panel on his latest book, "Moynihan's Moment: America's Fight Against Zionism as Racism" which explores the legacy of Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
The Power of Weak States in International Politics: Eastern Europe in the 20th Century
April 04, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
European Studies
"Weak states can be both policy takers and, occasionally, policy makers," argues Laszlo Borhi in a presentation examining weak states in East Central Europe in the 20th century. Focusing on several case studies, Borhi looks at three periods: the aftermath of World War I and World War II and the post-1989 era.
The Third Side of the Cold War: Movement of the Non-aligned States, Yugoslavia and the World
April 03, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
European Studies
Drawing on the private document collections of two former Yugoslav ministers of foreign affairs, Tvrtko Jakovina renders an account of Tito's last years in office and the role Yugoslavia played as the leader of the Movement of the Non-aligned Countries from 1960s until 1990s.
Stalin’s Decision for War in Korea
March 18, 2013 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
History and Public Policy Program
At the end of the 1940s Joseph Stalin was forced to negotiate a new treaty of alliance with the victorious Chinese Communists. Mao Zedong won significant concessions from Stalin. The Soviet dictator was compelled to alter completely his policy for Korea.
1989 After 1989: Memory in Transition in Central and Eastern Europe
March 14, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
European Studies
The eastern European revolutions of 1989 were a watershed in global history. Despite this, in the two decades since, their meaning has become a source of debate. While they have been promoted as a founding myth for a newly unified Europe, eastern Europeans have repeatedly represented them as a moment of betrayal, martyrdom, liberation, victory, disappointment, loss, colonization, or nostalgia.
Stalin’s Curse: Battling for Communism in War and Cold War
March 05, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
European Studies
"Exciting, deeply engaged, and shrewdly perceptive, Stalin's Curse is an unprecedented revelation of the sinister machinations of Stalin's Kremlin." Based on newly declassified archival materials author Robert Gellately offers a more clearly defined picture of what went on behind the scenes.
On the Edge of the Cold War: American Diplomats and Spies in Postwar Europe
January 23, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:30pm
European Studies
Drawing on archival documents and testimonies of high-ranking American diplomats and intelligence officers, "On the Edge of the Cold War" explores the postwar political crisis in former Czechoslovakia from the perspective of the U.S. Embassy under Laurence Steinhardt and of U.S. Intelligence under Charles Katek and Spencer Taggart. The book paints a critical portrait of Ambassador Steinhardt, and shows that his groundless optimism caused Washington to ignore signs that democracy in Czechoslovakia was in trouble.
The Life of a Vilna Ghetto Rescuer: Reading, Writing, Remembering
November 26, 2012 // 2:30pm — 3:30pm
European Studies
Julija Šukys, author of Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of Ona Šimaitė, carefully collected, preserved, and archived the written record of the life of Ona Šimaitė. Šimaitė, a librarian at Vilnius University, used her position to aid and rescue Jews in the Vilna Ghetto.
Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979-1988
October 15, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Cold War International History Project
With its remarkable declassified documentation and oral testimony that bear directly on questions of U.S. policymaking with regard to the Iran-Iraq War, "Becoming Enemies" reveals much that was previously unknown about U.S. policy before, during, and after the war. The authors go beyond mere reportage to offer lessons regarding fundamental foreign policy challenges to the U.S. that transcend time and place.