The history of the communist past in Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries is part of European history. Still, the international and European audience hardly knows about what happened in their neighboring country and about the impact the legacy of this history carries till today.

This project builds on our existing work within the project “Histories from Belene”. With the translation of three virtual conversations with survivors of the communist labor camp Belene in Bulgaria into English, we want to contribute to a broader, more international debate. Giving access to these stories to an international audience will give them an opportunity to better understand what has happened under the communist rule in Bulgaria until 1989. The project includes an international summer school in Belene in 2025.

The project is a cooperation with the Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Berlin-Hohenschönhausen is the site of the central detention center of the East German Ministry of State Security (MfS) (April 1951 – January 1990). Today, the Memorial remembers the stories of political prisoners under the GDR regime. 

Objectives

1. Transmit knowledge on Bulgarian communist repression in Bulgaria and beyond
2. Reach out to an international audience 
3. Develop educational formats about dealing with the communist past 
4. Promote development of an European culture of remembrance, and etc.

Funding organization
(ЕN) A project in collaboration with Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Funded by Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur.
(DE) Kooperationsvorhaben mit der Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Gefördert mit Mitteln der Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur.