Documentary series: Sofia, 1989: in the footsteps of a revolution

10.11.2020

Documentary series: Sofia, 1989: in the footsteps of a revolution

The end of WWII, in 1945, was ground zero for Europe and the world. The West began to rebuild their homes, institutions, and re-commit to democratic norms. But the East set on a 45-year long path in which communism extended its tentacles into every aspect of the societies. In a way, the fall of the totalitarian regimes in 1989/91 brought the promise to the East that 1945 brought to the West. 75 years after the end of WWII and 30 years after 1989, the generation born after these events is now asking the question ‘what is the impact of history of the recent past on our present’.

Dealing with the past has been a difficult topic for the Bulgarian society – both when it comes to the communist history and to the history of transition to democracy. With a series of documentary video tours in Sofia, we want to explore the events of 1989 through the places and people that bear witness of them. Contemporaries will take us on a tour to different historical sites in the capital and will talk about their experience of the revolution. Finally, an online histoTALK will give us as the audience the chance to discuss these events with those who have experienced them.

Episode 1: Symbols of power: the Mausoleum, State Security and the Fear

Episode 2: The Emergence of the Resistance Movement

Episode 3: “Down with the Communist Party!”

Authors of this documentary series are the Sofia Platform Foundation and Dr. Momchil Metodiev, historian. The documentary series is part of the Transition Dialogue project and is done in cooperation with histoCON:LINE, funded by Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb)).

In the footsteps of a revolution (the whole tour)

The last documentary video is a continuation of the documentary series “Sofia, 1989: in the footsteps of a revolution”. It is supported by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb)) as part of the Transition Dialogue project.