Plan of activity for the year 2008

Approved by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes Board on 15 April 2008 (Plan of activity PDF 252 kB)

• Introduction
• Part 1 – Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing
  • Introduction – Intentions and tasks of the Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing
  • Part A – Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes
  • Part B – Section of Publishing
• Part 2 – Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics
  • Introduction – Intentions and tasks of the Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics
  • Part A – Section of Economy and Operation
  • Part B – Section of Informatics and Digitalization
• Part 3 – Institute Office

Introduction

The intent of Act No. 181/2007 Coll. providing for the establishment of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and the Archive of Security Forces together with amendments of some Acts was implemented on 1 February 2008, following a six months’ preparatory stage. The two newly established institutions took over the staff who had as yet worked within the Czech Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence, and the Office for Foreign Relations and Information. The Czech Government’s representative and provisional director of the Archive of Security Forces and director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (hereinafter referred to as the Institute) accomplished his task resulting from the law by taking over the movable and immovable property of all entities concerned, and by satisfying all conditions needed for due fulfilment of all obligations stemming from the State Budget Chapter No. 355. Consequently, the Institute’s management could not start drawing up a plan of the Institute’s activity for the year 2008 earlier than in the course of February and at the beginning of March 2008, following the appointment of the Institute’s senior staff and recruitment of new employees, or their rather complicated transfer from the Archive of Security Forces. It was first necessary to find professionals for the individual departments and sections, and then to set priorities at the level of the Institute’s management in view of the obligations and tasks as stipulated by the law. The definitive shape of some projects, namely within the Department of Research into the Time of Non-Freedom, is yet to be specified in dependence on response from the Ministry of Finance regarding staff reinforcement, or its build-up. The structure of the draft plan of the Institute’s activity for the year 2008 ensues from its organizational division into two major units – the Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing, and the Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics. In the context of tasks resulting from the law, the priorities of the Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing have been defined as follows:

1. Munich Conference and its consequences (1938)
2. Causes and the way of the democratic regime liquidation (1948)
3. Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the security apparatus during the Prague Spring and (Soviet) occupation (1968)
4. Activity of K231 (Association of Former Political Prisoners) and the reaction of the communist regime (1968)
5. Forms of resistance against the communist regime (including the 3rd Resistance)
6. (Czechoslovak) State Security Service (StB) cooperation with Soviet security services.

The Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes, as the Institute’s executive unit, provides for the study and unbiased evaluation of the time of non-freedom and communist totalitarian power, particularly antidemocratic and criminal activity of state bodies, security services, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and other organizations following its ideology. Based on its research results, the Section will define the contents of the Institute’s professional output in all forms, including a website. The Section of Publishing is an executive unit of the Institute charged with the publishing and editing activity in all forms, particularly with issuing periodical publications Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) and Securitas Imperii. The Section will also provide for the organization of exhibitions, seminars, specialized conferences and discussions. The Section of Economy and Operation is an executive unit of the Institute whose activity is not subject to any plan. Its tasks are fulfilled based on the valid legal norms and internal regulations. The Archive of Security Forces is s part of the Institute’s budget chapter 355, existing as an independent accounting unit controlled directly by the Institute. The Section of Informatics and Digitalization provides for the operation and development of information and communication systems, digitalization of archive documents and creation of electronic registers. Part of its tasks are linked directly with the activity of individual units of the Institute and the Archive, and it also provides scope for the Institute’s cooperation with other institutions. The Section’s major tasks ensue from the Open Past project whose implementation started at the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. It is aimed to create conditions for the processing and study of archive documents relating to the activity of security services from the time of non-freedom. Given the project’s extent, its implementation requires cooperation with other institutions and also financial means from the EU Structural Funds.

Part 1 Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing

• Introduction – Intentions and tasks of the Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing
• Part A – Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes
• Part B – Section of Publishing

Introduction – Intentions and tasks of the Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing

Long-term intentions of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (ÚSTR) are defined by Act No. 181/2007, Coll. as follows:

• Study and unbiased evaluation of the time of non-freedom and communist totalitarian power
• Research into anti-democratic and criminal activity of state bodies, and of state security services in particular
• Study of the criminal activity of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and organizations based on its ideology
• Analysis of the causes and the way of the democratic regime liquidation
• Documentation of Nazi and Communist crimes
• Documentation of persons who either supported or resisted the communist totalitarian power at home and abroad
• Publication of information, issue and spread of publications
• Organization of exhibitions, seminars, specialized conferences and discussions

The study is focused on the time of non-freedom (30 September 1938 – 4 May 1945), and on the time of communist totalitarian power (25 February 1948 – 29 December 1989) and the preceding period during which acts leading to the takeover of power by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took place.

A) Time of non-freedom

The long-term research intention will embrace the following periods:

1. October 1938 – March 1939 Attention will be focused primarily on the as yet little explored subjects, such as the penetration of totalitarian elements into the political and public life, creation of repressive mechanisms and resistance to these tendencies, and the impact of the Munich Agreement and the end of Czechoslovakia on society.
2. Bohemia-Moravia Protectorate Research will concern political repression at the time of the Nazi occupation, including the role of protectoral bodies and active resistance against the occupation across all political streams. In addition to the phenomenon of collaboration with the occupational regime, attention will be also devoted to the communist movement at home and abroad and its preparation for taking over power in the country.
3. Personal, methodological and ideological interconnections between the Nazi and the communist regime, such as adoption of repressive and security measures, use of agency networks, work with compromising materials, etc. In the year 2008, prior attention will be devoted to the Munich Conference and its consequences (1938). Further research projects relating to the time of non-freedom will be specified and formulated only after the staffing of the Department of Research into the Time of Non-Freedom is completed.

B) Time of communist totalitarian power

In view of this year’s anniversaries of major historical events relating to the time of non-freedom and the communist totalitarian power, the following priorities concerning research and outputs have been set for the Division of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and Publishing for the year 2008:

1. Causes and the way of the democratic regime liquidation (1948)
2. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) and the security apparatus during the Prague Spring and the (Soviet) occupation (1968)
3. The activity of K231 (Association of Former Political Prisoners) and the reaction of the communist regime (1968)
4. Forms of resistance against the communist regime (including the 3rd Resistance)
5. State Security Service (StB) cooperation with Soviet security services

The major long-term task consists in research into the development of the organizational structure and activity of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. This party played an essential role in Czechoslovakia’s history of the 20th century, and it bears responsibility for the liquidation of its democratic regime and for crimes against the country’s citizens and their repression. The reconstruction of the CPC apparatus personnel composition and its publication will allow for establishing individual responsibility of political officials on all levels. The priority output of this and other related projects will consist in encyclopaedic publications, series of documents, monographs and exhibitions. Closely linked with the activity of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) is the period of the Prague Spring and Czechoslovakia’s occupation by the Warsaw Pact forces in 1968. In this context, attention will be focused on as yet little explored facts concerning non-communist roots of the attempt to democratize the communist system, the activity of the security apparatus in the given period, and the victims of occupational forces in 1968. We intend to present to the public facts about the establishment and activity of K231 (Association of Former Political Prisoners), its effort to expose the crimes of communism and to restore civil society. Another long-term objective is the study of the activity of totalitarian regime repressive units, namely the security apparatus of the Ministry of the Interior, in relation to both real and presumed adversaries of the communist regime. A bibliographic dictionary of the Interior Ministry leadership is planned as one of the major outputs. Also embraced will be the role of the Ministry of Justice and of the judicial units subordinated to it in the years 1948 to 1960. They were used as an instrument of class struggle and represented one of the major pillars of the totalitarian regime, after the State Security Service. Today we still know more about the victims of communist justice than about the personnel composition of courts and prosecutor’s offices, or about individual justice officials who bear personal responsibility for the victims, for the liquidation of the democratic state respecting the rule of law, and for the devastation of legal consciousness and conscience in Czechoslovakia. The above task is closely linked with a project focused on research into the prison system in the years 1938 to 1989. The prison system was an inseparable part of repression of the population under both totalitarian regimes. The project also involves documentation of the fates of political prisoners. Given the current state of discussion within Czech society, research into resistance against the communist regime represents a relevant priority. The principal task will be to analyze the basic expressions and forms of resistance by groups and individuals, their motivation and results. In cooperation with the Archive of Security Forces, the activity of the State Security Service (StB) directed against these persons will be also studied. The resulting encyclopaedia of the 3rd Resistance and individual monographs will present the names and life stories of the often forgotten or unknown individuals who, together with their families, fell victim to cruel repression by the communist regime. The Section staff will make use of the fact that, according to the law, the Archive of Security Forces has taken over the records and documents of communist security services from the years 1945–1990, and newly also archive materials from the provenance of the main directorate of the intelligence service (1st Directorate of the National Security Corps – SNB) and its predecessors, and from the intelligence service of the Czechoslovak People’s Army general staff. The Institute has a unique opportunity to systematically and consistently expose the activity of these services on the Czechoslovak territory and abroad in the framework of efforts to “export” communism to the Third World, or to infiltrate and subvert the democratic West. Attention will be also paid to their activities carried out at the instigation of or in cooperation with the Soviet State Security Service (KGB), which coordinated and controlled satellite services. Research in this field will result in the issue of a series of documents on this cooperation up to 1968, and an international conference to be held in Prague in November 2008. The unique position of the Institute is evident in the area of Nazi and Communist crimes documentation, i.e. in the systematic, consistent and complete mapping of the activity of individual repressive units of totalitarian regimes and their concrete activities, including reconstruction of their personnel composition. Another task in the field of documentation consists in systematic reconstruction of the life stories of people who fell victim to both totalitarian regimes (e.g. publication of all relevant data including photographs of those executed on the Web). In this field the Department of Documentation will closely cooperate with Registers Development Department of the Section of Informatics in order to create information systems and registers providing for a higher effectiveness and quality of research. Based on agreement with the Archive of Security Forces, the Institute staff will provide assistance in addressing the Archive’ tasks at least in the form of texts contributed to the Archive of Security Forces Collections (e.g. on the agency-operative activity of the State Security Service, file agenda registration, operative register, etc.). Last but not least, great significance will be attached to cooperation with partner institutions abroad. The wording of an agreement on cooperation with the German Office of the Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR, and with Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, is under preparation. Other agreements are being negotiated with similar institutions in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Survey of long-term tasks

1. Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC)
   • Organization, personnel composition
   • Party leadership and activity in the region
   • Control of the state’s repressive elements
   • Control of society
   • Control and use of satellite political parties
   • Communist ideology and international communism
2. Repressive elements of the totalitarian regime
   • State Security Service
     • Organizational build-up and personnel composition
     • Enforcement of the CPC line in the central party organs and in regions
     • Agency network in Czechoslovakia and abroad
     • Intelligence service and collaboration with secret services of other communist states
     • State Security Service (StB) operative activity and organization of repression
     • Soviet advisers
   • Border Guards
     • Organization, activity, personnel composition
     • Collaboration with other units
     • Intelligence activity, boarder guards assistants
   • Czechoslovak People’s Army
     • Military intelligence service organization and personnel composition
     • Military intelligence service activity
     • Cooperation within the Warsaw Pact
     • Persecution in the Army
     • Repressive role of the Army
   • Judicial system
     • Organization and personnel composition of courts and public prosecutors’ offices
     • Trials and struggle against the class and internal enemy
   • People’s Militias
     • Organization and links to the Communist Party
     • Personnel, social and cadre development
     • Actions taken by People’s Militias
3. Victims, resistance and opposition
   • Documentation of victims, particularly those who were put to death (tortured to death, missing)
   • Research into and documentation of resistance and opposition (chronologically)
   • Consequences of victims’ persecution and their rehabilitation

Part A – Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes

Major and other tasks

Long-term tasks of the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes will be carried through in the form of research and educational projects in cooperation of researchers from the respective departments. In accomplishing specific tasks, the Section will closely cooperate with the Section of Publishing and other units of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The Section management has put forward basic thematic research priorities and individual types of output for the year 2008. Research will proceed in a broader thematic context and within long-term research and educational projects. The Section is the guarantor of historical research in the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The Department of Research into the Time of Non-Freedom and the Department for the Study of Communist Totalitarian Power provide for historical research into selected historical periods in the form of long-term research projects, and they participate in preparing educational projects. The Department of Documentation maps witnesses of the studied historical events, prepares background materials for educational projects for schools and the public, and participates in professional preparation of exhibitions. It also assembles a collection of photographs and documents for the purposes of exhibitions and educational projects. Research projects to be implemented by the Department of Research into the Time of Non-Freedom will be specified after its staffing is completed. Its long-term research intention concerning the period of the so-called Second Republic (October 1938 – March 1939) will be oriented on the as yet unexplored issues relating to this not very positive period of Czech history. Attention will be focused on the penetration of totalitarian elements in the political and public life of the then Czechoslovakia, creation of repressive mechanisms designed to suppress the actual as well as presumed opposition (labour camps for „inadaptable individuals“ and the like), and also the curtailing of democratic rights of citizens of the Second Republic (censorship). Opposition to these totalitarian tendencies will be also embraced. In a longer horizon, the Munich Agreement and the end of Czechoslovakia in September 1938 will be studied in terms of the extent to which these events caused the affection of part of Czech society for the Soviet Union and communist ideas in subsequent years. Research into the history of the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, or the time of non-freedom, will embrace two major areas: political repression at the time of the Nazi occupation, and active resistance against this occupation. In relation to repression, attention will be focused on the study of the Nazi repressive system under the Protectorate, description of its major instruments and institutions (Gestapo, SD, Abwehr, Ordnungspolizei, etc.), and the mechanism of its everyday functioning including collaboration with protectoral institutions. Research into active resistance will concentrate on anti-Nazi resistance movement both at home and abroad, and on acts preparing the totalitarian takeover of power by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in particular. Special attention will be devoted to Czech victims of Nazism, whose number has not been stated accurately yet. Also studied will be the phenomenon of collaboration with the occupational regime, post-war life stories of the participants in the home and foreign resistance movement, and the interlink between the two totalitarian regimes.

1. Research projects

Research projects are focused on specialized archive and historical research into essential thematic ranges. Their planned priority outputs include monographs, encyclopaedic publications and exhibitions. In addition, publication of preparatory working studies and series of archive documents is envisaged. All research projects will be presented on the Institute’s website and subsequently supplemented with samples of archive documents, electronic studies, personnel surveys, and photographs. After the staffing of the Department of Research into of the Time of Non-Freedom is completed, independent research projects devoted to the respective historical period will be outlined. The time of non-freedom is currently studied within several research and educational projects concerned with the entire period of 1938–1989. The survey of research projects below provides a brief description of their focus, structure, long-term outputs and specific outputs in the year 2008.

1.1 Development and Organizational Structure of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

Project coordinators: Mgr. Lukáš Cvrček and Mgr. Vítězslav Sommer Research into issues relating to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CPC), which played an essential role in Czechoslovakia’s history of the 20th century, represents one of the priorities of the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes. It will follow up the results of studies conducted up to now, and it will be conducted in cooperation with other institutions and individuals. The research will be carried out on several basic levels:

1. CPC development in the years 1938−1989, with an emphasis on the role of the elected bodies in the party leadership and also, particularly after 1948, in its regional structures
2. Life stories of members of selected CPC leading bodies in 1921−1989
3. Changes in the CPC organizational structure and the role of its apparatus
4. Definition of the CPC position in the structure of the international communist movement
5. Ideological aspects of communism – priority will be given to research into political and social concepts in terms of their origin, enforcement and acceptance (attention will be focused on the issue of the “originality” of Czechoslovak communism and the extent of its “Sovietization”, and the question of possible Czechoslovak modifications of Soviet concepts)

The major long-term outputs include a biographic dictionary of the CPC leadership, survey of the CPC regional apparatus personnel, a critical edition of documents relating to CPC international relations, and an exhibition on the CPC leadership. Specific outputs in 2008:

1. Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii
2. Survey of the CPC leadership personnel in 1921–1989 (project presentation on the Web)
3. Survey of the CPC apparatus personnel in 1951–1989 (project presentation on the Web)
4. Presentation at a conference on the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and Social Democracy in 1948, Brno, June 2008

1.2 Security Apparatus of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security)

Project Coordinators: PhDr. Petr Blažek, PhDr. Prokop Tomek and PhDr. Tomáš Vilímek Research into the history of the security apparatus of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security) is one of the main priorities of the long-term research intention of the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes. The security apparatus represented one of the basic repressive supports of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, and it affected the fates of hundreds of thousands of people. Research will proceed on several basic levels: The first level concerns the history of the repressive apparatus itself, and it embraces the following subject ranges:

1. Changes in the organizational structure of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security) and its security apparatus in 1948−1989
2. Power methods of decision-making and transfer of instructions, orders and regulations
3. Personnel composition of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security) and life stories of its prominent representatives
4. Share of the power Ministry in the revolutionary events of Czechoslovakia’s history in the 20th century

The second level of research concerns the activity of the security apparatus directed against both actual and presumed adversaries of the communist regime. It embraces the following thematic ranges:

1. 1. Repression of Czechoslovakia’s population
2. 2. Share of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security) leadership, individuals and groups, in the violence and terror unleashed in the 1950s, and in illegal practices applied against people who did not identify themselves with the violation of basic human rights and freedoms in subsequent years

The role of the security apparatus in affecting everyday life of Czechoslovak citizens in 1948−1989 represents an interconnected issue. In this context, research will also embrace as yet unavailable archive funds, particularly those from the provenance of the State Security Service as kept in the Archive of Security Forces. Major long-term outputs include a biographic dictionary of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security) leadership, a series of documents on National Security Corps cadre policy, a critical edition of agreements signed by the Czechoslovak Ministry of the Interior with security apparatuses of other socialist states, and a survey of State Security Service investigators engaged in preparing political trials in the initial period of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Specific outputs of the project in 2008

1. Subject monographs and series of documents
2. Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii
3. Presentation at a conference (KGB, Prague, November 2008)
4. Project presentation on the Web
   • Biographic survey of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministry of National Security) leadership in 1951–1989
   • February 1948 in regions – samples of archive documents from the provenance of the security apparatus
   • Samples of archive documents on cooperation between the KGB and StB
   • Commented file of a secret StB collaborator who was used by the KGB in the 1980s (project presentation on the Web)
5. Cycle of specialized lectures
   • Totalitarian and Authoritative Regimes in Czechoslovakia in 1938−1989. A cycle of historians’ lectures (summer semester 2008, Charles University, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Czech History – ÚČD FF UK)
   • Public seminars of the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes

1.3 „Class Justice“ in 1948–1960

Project Coordinator: Mgr. Tomáš Bursík The project is devoted to the role of the Ministry of Justice and its subordinated judicial sections during the time of the communist regime building and strengthening. After February 1948, law became an instrument of enforcing class struggle, and one of the pillars of the newly built „people’s democratic“ state. It was reduced to the execution of decisions made by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Research into this field will proceed on several basic levels:

1. Mechanisms of the fast transformation of judicial power into a subordinate executor of decisions made by Communist Party representatives
2. Organizational structure of the judiciary bodies and of public prosecutors’ offices after February 1948
3. Personnel composition of the justice system, its transformation, and its relation to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
4. Political persecution of judges, prosecutors and other judicial personnel after February 1948

An encyclopaedic dictionary „Class Justice“, a critical edition of documents on the decision-making processes in justice in the given period, and an exhibition about the history of the State Court and the State Prosecutor’s Office in 1948–1952 will be the major long-term output of the project. Specific outputs of the project in 2008

1. Subject monograph
2. Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii
3. Biographic survey of „class justice“ representatives in 1948-1952 (project presentation on the Web)

1.4 The Prague Spring and the (Soviet) Occupation, Non-communist Tradition and the Security Apparatus

Project coordinators: Petr Blažek, Milan Bárta, Lukáš Cvrček, Vítězslav Sommer Issues relating to the period of the Prague Spring reform movement are traditionally treated with great attention in Czech historiography. The Department of Research into Communist Power intends to focus on as yet little explored traditions and events at the close of the 1960s. Research will be conducted on several basic levels:

1. Non-communist roots and traditions of the Prague Spring (reform movement)
2. Victims of occupational forces in the Czechoslovak territory in 1968
3. Security apparatus of Czechoslovakia’s Ministry of the Interior

Even though the Prague Spring lasted only several months, the newly founded (or restored) organizations and associations including K 231 (Association of Former Political Prisoners), the Club of Committed Non-Party Members, the Union of Locomotive Crews, and the Preparatory Committee for Renewed Activity of Social Democracy contributed in an essential way to reviving civic society. The role of the security apparatus in 1968 has as yet stayed aside thorough archive research. Certain reform streams could be traced in this area as well and many individuals openly demonstrated their approval of the post-January developments, while many other employees of the Interior Ministry did not identify themselves with the development of society in the spring of 1968. Little explored is also the activity of the security apparatus itself and its cooperation with similarly oriented institutions in the Eastern Bloc, and with the Soviet side in particular. Victims of the August occupation of Czechoslovakia represent another important subject of research. Major long-term outputs of research in this area include an international conference on the Prague Spring reform movement and the security apparatus, an exhibition and a seminar on the history of K 231, a critical edition of documents from the provenance of the security apparatus, a dictionary of victims of the 1968 occupation, and a public exhibition on the same issue. Specific outputs suggested for the year 2008

1. Subject monographs and series of documents
2. Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii
3. Presentation at a conference (The Prague Spring, security apparatus and propaganda, Prague, September 2008)
4. Exhibitions and catalogues:
   • Don’t Let it Happen Again (Aby se to už neopakovalo). Exhibition on the history of K 231 – Association of Former Political Prisoners Opening: 30 March 2008, Žofín, meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the foundation of K 231
   • Victims of occupational forces in 1968 Opening: Václavské náměstí, 21 August 1968 (part of a more extensive event organized by the National Museum)
   • Live Torch. Jan Palach (Živá pochodeň. Jan Palach) – exhibition Date: 14 January 2009 – 1 March 2009, opening on 14 January 2009 Organizer: National Museum in cooperation with the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and the Students’ Council of the Charles University Faculty of Philosophy
5. The Prague Spring non-communist tradition (project presentation on the Web)
6. Victims of the (Soviet) occupation of August 1968 (project presentation on the Web)

1.5 Prison System in the Czech Lands in 1938−1989

Coordinator: Mgr. Tomáš Bursík Both the Nazi and the communist regime in Czechoslovakia viewed the prison system as an inseparable part of repressive measures used against their own population. Imprisonment was used to punish people on the grounds of their racial difference, class, difference of opinions, different social status, religious belief, etc. Common social relations and acts were criminalized and politicized. One of the basic tasks of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes is to explore the activity of repressive bodies to which prisons belonged at the time of the existence of totalitarian regimes in the territory of former Czechoslovakia. Research will be conducted on several basic levels:

1. Organizational structure and personnel composition of prisons in the territory of former Czechoslovakia
2. Institutional transformations and decision-making processes on the part of prisons and power ministries
3. Repressive policy of the ruling bodies and the prison system
4. Life stories of political prisoners in the studied period

The major long-term outputs include an encyclopaedia of prison facilities in the territory of former Czechoslovakia in 1938–1989, a monograph on the situation of political prisoners in the period of „normalization“ in Czechoslovakia, and an exhibition about the prison system in the studied period. Specific suggested outputs in 2008

1. Subject monograph and series of documents
2. Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii
3. Presentation of prison facilities in the territory of former Czechoslovakia in 1938–1989 (project presentation on the Web)

1.6 Resistance and Opposition against the Communist Regime in 1948−1989

Coordinators: Mgr. Tomáš Bursík a PhDr. Prokop Tomek Resistance and opposition against communist power represent one of the basic priorities of research conducted within the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes in relation to the1948−1989 period. The primary intention is to present the basic expressions and forms of resistance by groups and individuals against the communist regime, their motivation and results. Research will be conducted on several basic levels:

1. Typology of resistance against the communist regime in 1948−1956
2. Life stories of prominent figures of anti-communist opposition and resistance in 1948–1956
3. Typology of the expressions of opposition and resistance in 1956–1989
4. Life stories of prominent figures of opposition and resistance in 1956–1989

Attention will be focused on the activity of the State Security Service directed against opponents of the communist regime. An extensive archive research using the Archive of Security Forces funds will be conducted in the framework of the project. In the spring of 2009, the Institute will organize an international conference on resistance and opposition against totalitarian regimes in Europe. The conference will be prepared in the course of the year 2008. Major long-term outputs in this area of research include an encyclopaedia of the 3rd Resistance, an exhibition about Western and exile intelligence services couriers in 1948–1956, and a critical edition of documents from the provenance of operative State Security (StB) units in the period of „normalization”. Specific outputs in 2008

1. Subject monograph
2. Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii
3. Exhibition and catalogue Na frontě studené války – Československo 1948–1956 (At the Front of Cold War – Czechoslovakia 1948-1956) The planned date of the exhibition opening: autumn 2008
4. Typology of the 3rd Resistance based on the Interior Ministry card files, Action „48“ (project presentation on the Web)

2. Educational projects

Educational projects relating to the history of totalitarian regimes in the territory of former Czechoslovakia are outlined on two levels. The first type of projects is focused on professional cooperation with schools, and those providing secondary education in particular. Courses for secondary-school history teachers, elaboration of auxiliary textbooks and handbooks and specialized lectures for students are among the planned specific outputs. The second type of education projects will be directed towards the general public and their outputs will consist in specialized lectures, public seminars, conferences and festivals.

2.1 Cooperation with Schools

Project coordinators: Mgr. Jaroslav Pinkas and Mgr. Kamil Činátl The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes seeks to enhance students’ awareness of our recent past. The major task in this respect consists in acquainting teachers with new information using new and effective methods. The project is intended to provide educational facilities, and secondary schools and universities in particular, with high-quality assistance in teaching about our latest history. The Institute intends to cooperate with various institutions, non-governmental organizations and go-ahead individuals from among teachers. The project will use new approaches both in the area of education and in preparing educational materials, and draw from the activity of the Institute’s historians, published specialized materials and the Archive of Security Forces resources. Teaching materials should be partly in the audiovisual form, such that may be used not only as a source of information. They should also serve as methodological aids for history teachers. The project will be devoted primarily to the training of secondary-school history teachers and elaboration of teaching materials (commented series of documents from the Archive of Security Forces with methodological sheets and audiovisual materials). Some project outputs are planned in the form of printed publications. They will be available in an extended form on the Institute’s website. A summer school for secondary-school history teachers and regular seminars for history teachers are also envisaged, as well as students’ competition under the title „Ask Your Parents“. Specific outputs in 2008

1. Summer school for history teachers (August 2008)
2. Seminars for history teachers (Prague, September – December 2008)
3. Textbooks and handbooks for schools

2.2 Historical Education for the Public

Project Coordinator: PhDr. Markéta Doležalová Publishing information about the time of non-freedom and the period of communist totalitarian power represents one of the major tasks of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. This may take the form of specialized and popularizing lectures, seminars, public debates, specialized conferences and seminars, organized with the aim to spread information and also to call forth a debate on topical subjects relating to historical research. A long-term output is planned in the form of a cycle of regular lectures, film projections, and meetings with witnesses of the studied historical events. Specific output in 2008

• A cycle of public historical seminars (at the seat of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regime)

2.3 Film and the History of Totalitarian Regimes

Project Coordinators: Mgr. Jaroslav Pinkas a PhDr. Petr Kopal Audiovisual records represent important witnesses of historical events and the development and state of society in a specific historical period. They are especially important in connection with the activity of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes because they document all of the 20th century. The project to be implemented in this area will thus concentrate on collecting and using film and television records as a highly effective means of presenting historical themes. A collection of film and television materials for research, publishing and educational purposes will be created step by step within the project. The collection will be open to the Institute staff and also to those interested among the professional public (individuals, schools and organizations). It will allow us to organize commented film projections, thematic cycles of lectures accompanied with audiovisual materials, or thematic film shows focused among other things on the reflection of relevant historical subjects in films. This activity will be aimed to address the general public and enhance general historical awareness. The project also reckons with consultancy to be provided to those interested from among the general public and professional institutions, including lecturers’ assistance in preparing school film projections or thematically oriented film shows organized by various non-profit or public organizations. Consequently, the project will not serve only to expand research resources within the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, but primarily to allow for a high-quality professional presentation of historical subjects to the general public. The long-term output of the project will consist in the organization of film seminars, festivals and a cycle of lectures for secondary-school history teachers and students. A monograph devoted to film and censorship in communist Czechoslovakia is the planned result on the research level of the project. Specific outputs in 2008

1. Film festival – Human Face of Socialism (a cycle of film projections for schools and the public, presentations of historians and debates with witnesses, Prague, June 2008)
2. Cycle of film seminars (the seat of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes)
3. Cycle of lectures for secondary schools Film and Totalitarian Regimes in Czechoslovakia
4. Creation of a film archive relating to the history of totalitarian regimes

2.4 Memory and the History of Totalitarian Regimes

Project Coordinator: Mgr. Adam Hradílek Oral history is a method that allows for embracing areas as yet undescribed by traditional historical science. Survivors and witnesses represent a unique source of information. The project to be conducted in this area is devoted to an important task: to collect records with the witnesses of the past, edit them and ensure their preservation. Specific groups of the witnesses of the past will be tipped out within the project. It will concentrate on the following ranges of witnesses:

1. Members of the anticommunist resistance and opposition
2. Victims of the communist regime
3. Members and collaborators of the communist regime repressive apparatus

Interviews with witnesses will be recorded using up-to-date audio and visual equipment, edited according to well-tested methodological procedures, and used for research, publishing and educational purposes. In the field of orally presented history, the Institute envisages cooperation with institutions, civic associations and individuals. The planned long-term output will consist in collections of interviews with groups of witnesses. Parts of the project output will be presented on the website. A collection of interviews will be assembled within the project and made available to researchers. Specific outputs in 2008:

1. Interviews and articles published in specialized journals Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii)
2. Development of a methodological procedure for collecting interviews (project presentation on the Web)
3. Placement of project results on the Web, together with audiovisual supplements (project presentation on the Web)

2.5 Exhibitions

Project Coordinator: PhDr. Prokop Tomek The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes seeks to present the results of its research by way of exhibitions. This will allow for presenting a large number of documents and pictures kept in the Archive of Security Forces. Important photographs and documents will be searched and preserved within the project with the aim to assemble a collection of materials suitable for exhibitions. After outlining the major themes, exhibition scenarios will be prepared, and materials in the form of exhibition panels will be produced in cooperation with researchers and with the Department of Exhibitions and Education. Exhibitions will be prepared in cooperation with the Institute’s partners from museums and archives. The long-term output of the project will consist in exhibitions and catalogues. Specific outputs in 2008 (presented in greater detail within research projects description):

1. 1. Exhibitions and catalogues
   • History of the Association of Former Political Prisoners K 231
   • Victims of the August occupation
   • At the Front of the Cold War
   • Live Torch Jan Palach

Planned outputs of the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes according to priority thematic ranges and the capacity of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in 2008

The following survey of research outputs according to priority thematic ranges has been set up based on the Institute’s actual personnel and financial capacity. We suggest that the other printed outputs listed under the long-term research intentions should be issued in co-edition with other publishers.

1. February 1948
   • 1.1 Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii)
   • 1.2 Presentation at a conference (Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and Social Democracy in 1948, Brno, June 2008)
   • 1.3 February 1948 in regions – samples of archive documents from the provenance of the security apparatus (project presentation on the Web)
2. Prague Spring and the (Soviet) occupation
   • 2.1. Specialized biographies
   • 2.2 Exhibitions and a catalogue
     • Victims of occupational forces in 1968 Exhibition opening: Václavské náměstí, 21August 2008 (part of more extensive events prepared by the National Museum)
     • Live Torches. Jan Palach and the Others (exhibition catalogue – January 2009)
   • 2.3 Presentation at a conference The Year 1968 – a conference organized in cooperation with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and the Charles University Faculty of Philosophy (FFUK)
   • 2.4 Collection of contributions from the conference The Year1968 – Collection of contributions from the scientific conference, 4–6 September 2008
   • 2.5 Non-communist traditions of the Prague Spring (project presentation on the Web)
   • 2.6 Victims of the August occupation (project presentation on the Web)
3. K 231
   • 3.1 Specialized biographies and series of documents
   • 3.2 Exhibitions and catalogues
     • “Don’t Let it Happen Again”- an exhibition about the history of K 231 – Association of Former Political Prisoners
   • 3.3 Presentation at a seminar: K 231. Former Political Prisoners at the Time of The Prague Spring – historical seminar and a debate with witnesses – Radovan Procházka and Ota Rambousek, professional guarantors: Petr Blažek and Tomáš Bursík
4. 3rd Resistance
   • 4.1 Subject studies and series of documents Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History), Securitas Imperii)
   • 4.2 Exhibition and a catalogue
     • At the Front of the Cold War – Czechoslovakia 1948-1956 Planned date of the exhibition opening: autumn 2008
   • 4.3 Typology of the 3rd Resistance based on the card file of the Ministry of the Interior, Action „48“ (project presentation on the Web)
5. KGB and Czechoslovakia
   • 5.1 Presentation at a conference (KGB, Prague, November 2008)
   • 5.2 Projects presentation on the Web
     • Samples of archive documents on cooperation between the KGB and the StB (project presentation on the Web)
     • Commented volume of a secret StB collaborator who was used by the KGB in the 1980s (project presentation on the Web)

Part B – Section of Publishing

Major and other tasks

The Section of Publishing is charged with publishing and preparing books and periodical publications of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and with organizing exhibitions, seminars, specialized conferences and debates. It issues the Paměť a dějiny (Memory and History) quarterly and other periodical (Securitas Imperii) and non-periodical publications, namely series of documents issued and prepared as outputs of research and popularization intentions of the Institute and third subjects, or in cooperation with them, especially if they contribute in an essential way to accomplishing the tasks and priorities stipulated by Act No. 181/2007 Coll. Close cooperation in the area of publishing is envisaged with the closest partner, the Archive of Security Forces. One of the major tasks of the Section of Publishing is to start issuing an international historical journal in English that would be specialized in the study of totalitarian regimes in Eastern and Central Europe. The intention reflects the absence of a similar periodical in post-communist countries. Another major publication to be produced by the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes and issued by the Section of Publishing is an encyclopaedia of victims of Czechoslovakia’s occupation in 1968. It will comprise 130 biographic items concerning victims of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact countries, and its issue will be accompanied with an interactive exhibition in August 2008. The Section of Publishing will present materials collected and edited by the Department of Documentation to both the professional and non-professional public. Priority will be given to projects of a lasting value in the area of education, such as would have an impact on the general public and would be implemented in cooperation with Czech and foreign partners. This year’s event of international significance will be an international conference called Activity of Soviet Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe II. It will follow up a similar conference organized in November 2007 in Bratislava. The event will be organized in cooperation with foreign institutions (e.g. Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, Germany’s Office of the Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR, The Slovak Academy of Sciences and US Harvard University) on the premises of the Senate of the Czech Parliament and with the support of its deputy chairman. Another suggested task envisages cooperation in building a digital witness archive. It is an extensive long-term project that would be unique even within the European context. With the use of an interactive server we will make it possible for researchers and the public to share unique records of a total of 5000 survivors from the time of World War II and communist persecution. A total of twelve institutions will participate in the project whose chief guarantors include Czech Radio, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and the Post Bellum company. The project will complement the Institute’s effort to digitalize written archival and other documents. The Section will also participate in organizing educational and experience projects at secondary schools. Another long-term task consists in the administration of the Institute’s library which serves primarily for internal use and specializes in issues relating to repression, opposition and resistance, victims, and description of the system of functioning of the Nazi and the communist regimes. In the course of 2008 it will be necessary to make an inventory of collections gained by way of delimitation, purchase or donation, to catalogue them, and to ensure supply of professional literature including international journals and daily press. Other tasks include literature search and bibliographic services on an international scale, access of the Institute’s staff to international databases of books, journals/magazines and articles, and possibly also organization of circulation service between libraries in the Czech Republic and abroad.

Number and type of the Institute’s publications put forward for implementation by the Section of Publishing in 2008

Outputs of the Section of Publishing according to priority thematic ranges and to the Institute’s capacity in 2008

1. Power takeover by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1948)
   • 1.1. Diplomats against Nazism and Communism (Diplomaté proti nacizmu a komunizmu) (Exhibition; date: January 2009) Coordinator: PhDr. Ivana Koutská, Bc. Michal Hroza The exhibition maps the cases of Czechoslovak diplomats who refused to succumb to occupational authorities and hand over foreign missions, and those who refused to succumb to the communist government after February 1948. Consul Vladimír Vochoč in Marseille saved the lives of hundreds of Jews, Ambassador Ján Papánek put through convocation of the UN Security Council to discuss the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia. The exhibition will also elucidate the origin of Workers’ Diplomatic Academy, and describe the fates of diplomats who were imprisoned or dismissed from work after 1948.
   • 1.2 Fates of Our Neighbours (Osudy našich sousedů) (Itinerant exhibition to be presented at schools) Coordinator: Bc. Michal Hroza The exhibition Fates of our Neighbours, which took place at Písecká brána in Prague 23 February – 8 March 2008, presented 23 portraits and life stories of survivors who were persecuted by the communist totalitarian regime after February 1948. It was prepared in cooperation with the Prague 6 urban district, the Post Bellum company, and Czech Radio – Rádio Česko. The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes was invited as a co-organizer of the event. After its end the collection was turned into an itinerant exhibition to be presented at Prague secondary and elementary schools in the course of the next two years. An exhibition collection was set up in the framework of the project to be distributed as a teaching aid to students of all secondary schools and to eighth-and ninth-grade pupils of elementary schools in Prague 6. Pupils and students of the respective schools will take part in installing the exhibition and in preparing its opening, which should stimulate their interest in the history of totalitarian regimes.
2. Prague Spring and the occupation (1968)
   • 2.1 Film and History: Totality and Propaganda 1968: Shattered Illusion (1968: Zmařené iluze) (Cycle of film shows. Venue: cinemas Aero, Světozor, Střelecký ostrov; date: 10 – 14 June 2008) Coordinator: Mgr. Jaroslav Pinkas a BcA. Vítězslav Jandák This show of documentary and feature films will offer to viewers a picture of the year 1968 as recorded by the media. It will present documents from the given period and from the present, artistic reflections, foreign films, and also films from the period of normalization. All performances will be introduced by professional lecturers. Films will be shown in several sections that will be oriented on different target groups of viewers. The festival will also offer a morning educational bloc intended primarily for schools. It will be comprised of lectures dealing with the time when the given film originated, commentaries on individual films and the projection of several mostly documentary films. The Respekt weekly will organize a discussion of experts on the subject of propagandistic use of film by totalitarian regimes. The film show will be organized in cooperation with the Prague 3 urban district, Czech Television, the National Film Archive, Short Film, Bonton, and the Association of Czech Film Clubs. It will take place in the prestigious theatre of the art cinema Světozor, which is part of the European art cinemas project Europe Cinemas, in the club cinema Aero and at Střelecký ostrov. The project will be part of a cycle of film shows devoted to various subjects relating to totalitarian regimes.
   • 2.2 Security Apparatus, Propaganda and the Prague Spring (Specialized conference, venue: Charles University Faculty of Philosophy (FFUK), date: September 2008) Coordinator: Mgr. Kateřina Volná The international conference „Security Apparatus, Propaganda and the Prague Spring” is scheduled in Prague on 7 – 9 September. The event will open with a commemorative concert devoted to Ryszard Siwiecz who burnt himself to death in protest against Czechoslovakia’s occupation in September 1968, four months earlier than Jan Palach. In the course of the two days’ conference, contributions by Czech, Polish and Hungarian historians will be presented in six specialized panels. Two other panels will be devoted to discussions with witnesses, even from states that participated in Czechoslovakia’s occupation. The event is co-organized by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, Hungary’s Institute for the History of the Hungarian Revolution 1956 and the Polish Institute from the Czech Republic.
   • 2.3 Victims of the 1968 Occupation (Exhibition; venue: Václavské náměstí, Prague; date: 21 August 2008. The exhibition will take place as part of a more extensive event organized by the National Museum) Coordinator: Bc. Michal Hroza
3. K 231
   • 3.1 Don’t Let it Happen Again (Aby se to už neopakovalo) (Exhibition; venue: Žofín, date: 30 March 2008) An exhibition about K 231 – the Association of Former Political Prisoners. The authors of the concept and guarantors of the exhibition include Petr Blažek and Tomáš Bursík. Preparatory work on the exhibition started as early as before 1 February 2008. It is envisaged as an itinerant exhibition to be presented both in the Czech Republic and abroad.
4. Resistance and opposition against the communist regime
   • 4.1 Repression of Political Adversaries of the Communist Totalitarian Regime (Exhibition) Coordinator: Mgr. Pavel Paleček In the course of the democratic system liquidation, a number of party functionaries across the entire political spectrum risked their lives while others started to collaborate with and build the totalitarian regime. The exhibition will commemorate the first ever victims of totality from the ranks of Social Democrats (more than 250 functionaries were sentenced to more than 10 years’ imprisonment), members of the People’s Party and National Socialists. It will also recall executions of the Communist Party founding members, which unleashed subsequent terror against democrats.
   • 4.2 Talking about Totality (Hovory o totalitě) (Cycle of lectures followed by discussion) Coordinator: Mgr. Pavel Paleček A cycle of debates intended for both professionals and the public. The evening programme will be comprised of an expert lecture on a subject relating to totalitarian regimes, personal memories of a selected witness, and an address by a publicly known person commenting on both. The subsequent debate will be moderated by journalists. The whole cycle will be prepared in cooperation with the national media. Cooperation with foreign experts on the given subject is also envisaged.
   • 4.3 At the Front of the Cold War – Czechoslovakia 1948–1956 (Na frontě studené války– Československo 1948-1956) (Exhibition; venue: Museum of the Capital of Prague; date: September – November 2008) Coordinator: PhDr. Prokop Tomek, Bc. Michal Hroza The exhibition is being arranged in cooperation of the Section of Publishing and the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes. It deals with active intelligence resistance against the communist totalitarian regime which was organized from abroad and took place on Czechoslovakia’s borders with Austria, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The exhibition is based on critically evaluated information, documents and photographs gained from institutions of the former communist totalitarian regime. In view of the closed character of foreign archives, there is no other way of approaching this issue. However, it is important to find direct participants in this resistance and use them as consultants.
5. KGB and Czechoslovakia
   • 5.1. Activities of Soviet Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe, II (Aktivity sovětských tajných služeb ve střední a východní Evropě II) (Specialized conference; venue: Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic; date: 19– 21 November 2008) Coordinator: Mgr. Kateřina Volná The international conference under the name Activities of Soviet Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe, II is scheduled in Prague on 19 – 21 November 2008. The event will follow up the conference on KGB activities held in Bratislava in November 2007, and the same event will be organized by the German Office of the Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR in Berlin in 2009. The conference is aimed to uncover the activity of Soviet state security and intelligence services in Central and Eastern Europe and their cooperation with security services of other communist states, based on findings by Czech and foreign experts.
   • 5.2 Soviet Secret Services in Czechoslovakia (Mini-exhibition) Coordinator: Bc. Michal Hroza The exhibition will accompany the specialized conference Activities of Soviet Secret Services in Central and Eastern Europe, II organized by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. It will be arranged at the venue of the conference in a way that will make it available to the public.
6. Other projects
   • 6.1 Czechoslovak Intelligence Service in NATO (Exhibition; Venue: Prague; Date: November 2008) Coordinator: PhDr. Ivana Kautská, Radek Schovánek The exhibition and an accompanying publication will be based on newly discovered documents about the activity of the Czechoslovak Intelligence Service in some NATO countries. It will embrace the people involved in this activity as well its methods, victims and results. The event is intended to draw attention to the given subject and also to the existence of the Institute, both among Czechs living abroad and among foreign specialists and people interested in this issue. Work on this project may serve as a theme of a possible television document.
   • 6.2 Best Thesis Competition (Competition) Coordinator: Mgr. Pavel Paleček, Michal Šmíd The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes will call a competition for the best Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctor’s thesis on the history of totalitarian regimes. It will publish on its website the rules of this competition and set up an assessment commission of members of its professional staff. The Institute will make the winning thesis public. This intention is aimed to stimulate interest of young people in the study of totalitarian regimes, encourage young talented historians and young people in general who are interested in the subject. They will be also offered participation in other activities organized by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.
   • 6.3 Scholar in Residence Programme, 3 to 12 weeks (Study and research visits) Coordinator: Mgr. Pavel Paleček The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and the Archive of Security Forces will provide its free capacities to foreign researchers and journalists who will prove their interest in the study of totalitarian regimes or interest in the study of archive records kept by the Archive, for work on research projects as provided for by the law. This means an office, a PC and other equipment needed for successful implementation of the given project. The Institute will thus allow researchers to take part in its scientific life. The programme will last two weeks minimum and three months maximum. Preference will be given to persons from partner institutions and those whose work will promise the highest possible impact both professionally and in terms of disseminating information among the public.
   • 6.4 Juvenile Political Prisoners in Former Czechoslovakia (Exhibition) Coordinator: Mgr. Pavel Paleček, Bc. Michal Hroza The project is aimed to acquaint the public with the little known fact that the communist totalitarian regime did not hesitate to persecute even juvenile persons and even those who did not take any part in opposition against it, thus breaching its own laws. The exhibition will be part of a broader project commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. An oral history project will be part of the exhibition, taking advantage of the fact that most of those persecuted in this way are still alive thanks to their lower age,
   • 6.5 Survivors’ Digital Archive (E-learning) Coordinator: Mgr. Pavel Paleček The administrators of the project, whose extent ranks it among the largest projects of its kind in Europe and probably also in the world, include Czech Radio, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and the Post Bellum company. With the aid of an interactive server, both the researchers and the public will be allowed distance sharing of unique records on 5000 survivors of World War II and the communist persecution which came and are coming into being thanks to a number of Czech and international institutions. The project may essentially influence the ongoing discussion about both totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, the media interpretation of totality, and the interest of youth in the period of the communist and Nazi rule. A total of 12 institutions will join the project. Its implementation will complement the Institute’s effort for the digitalization of written sources; our experts would also provide for professional administration of digital archive.

Part 2 – Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics

• Introduction – Intentions and tasks of the Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics
• Part A – Section of Economy and Operation
• Part B – Section of Informatics and Digitalization

Introduction – Intentions and tasks of the Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics

Intentions and tasks of the Division of Economy, Operation and Informatics embrace:

• Stabilization of the Institute’s economy while striving for economical, effective and purposeful use of financial means from the state budget
• Calculation of the necessary expenditure for Budget Chapter 355 from the General Treasury Administration chapter of the Government Budget Reserve item, such as has not been provided for in the budgets of the individual state budget chapters, up to 50 million CZK
• Effort to increase the budget of the relevant Chapter for the year 2009 and the years 2010–2011 in the draft budget and the medium-term state budget outlook for the next period
• Ensuring faultless, effective and safe operation of information and communication technologies and their development
• Technical implementation of and provision for the operation of the Institute’s and Archive’s website
• Digitalization of archive documents and their opening to users (researchers)
• Transfer of archive filing aids into the electronic form
• Mining of information from archive documents and subsequent creation of files according to the needs of other units of the Institute and the Archive
• Implementation of the Open Past project, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic
• Cooperation on projects with similar institutions and archives in the Czech Republic and abroad using financial means from the EU

Part A – Section of Economy and Operation

Major and other tasks

The primary task of the Section of Economy and Operation rests in stabilizing the Institute’s economy while striving for economical, effective and purposeful use of the state budget means. Based on a promise given by Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (letter No. 19/79 154/2007 – 191 of 25 September 2007), the Section of Economy and Operation will primarily elaborate a calculation of necessary expenditure for Budget Chapter No. 355, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. In the sense of this promise, the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic will increase the budget of Chapter No. 355 from the General Treasury Administration chapter of the Government Budget Reserve item, in order to cover the necessary expenditure which is not provided for in the budgets of the individual state budget chapters. These financial means will be used as compensation money and for the purpose of wage increases and the related expenditure, to reinforce the staff (the Department for the Study of Nazi Crimes /1938–1945/, the Records and Shredding Group and the Conservation Department), to prepare and carry through the needed improvement of the Institute’s premises (window insulation, air conditioning in conference rooms), and also for the purpose of investments (purchase of an X-ray equipment to check incoming mail and parcels and furnishing of the library and shop with the necessary furniture/shelves). The Section of Economy and Operation will strive to increase the Institute’s budget for the year 2009 and for the years 2010–2011 in the draft budget and the medium-term state budget outlook for the next period. Financial means for November and December 2008 and for the years 2009 and 2010 have been de facto allocated to Chapter 355 (the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes) by way of financial means delimitation (from Chapter 314 – Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Chapter 307 – Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, and Chapter 336 – Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic), and their amount does not correspond to the real needs of Chapter 355. Consequently, the Institute will apply to the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, in the form of background material for the preparation of a draft state budget for the year 2009 and a medium-term state budget outlook for the years 2010 and 2011, for an increase in the Institute’s budget that would allow it to perform the activities stipulated by Act No.181/2007 Coll. Another task of the Section of Economy and Operation in the year 2008, which stems from the Finance Ministry Decree No. 16/2001 Coll. on the manner, deadlines and extent relating to data required for the purpose of assessing compliance with the state budget, state funds budget and the budget of territorial self-governing units in the effective wording, include:

Other tasks of the Section of Economy and Operation in the year 2008, stemming from the Finance Ministry Decree No. 419/2001 Coll. on the extent, structure, and deadlines relating to data required for the purpose of elaborating a draft state final account, and on the extent and deadlines set for drafting the final accounts of the individual state budget chapters in the effective wording, include

Other tasks of the Section of Economy and Operation to be performed in 2008 include: To be defended before the Financial Subcommittee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (PS PČR)

Part B – Section of Informatics and Digitalization

Major and other tasks

The Section of Informatics and Digitalization is an executive unit of the Institute charged with independent fulfilment of some tasks stipulated by Act No.181/2007 Coll. (digitalization of archive documents). It also provides for the administration and development of information systems for the Institute and the Archive. The priority of the Section rests in the implementation of a united concept of information systems of the Institute and the Archive, and in ensuring their faultless, effective and safe operation. This means providing for common operation of PCs, servers, network infrastructure and services (computer network, e-mail, websites www.ustrcr.cz and www.abscr.cz), data security and backup, and also voice communication (fixed lines, mobile phones). Digitalization of archive documents and continuation of the Open Past project, which originated within the authority of the Czech Interior Ministry, represent another priority. The project is to continue in cooperation with the Czech Interior Ministry and other institutions, with financial means drawn from the EU structural funds. The integrated operation program for the 2007–2013 period envisages financing of the digitalization of selected data resources, and creation of instruments to make archive materials public in the framework of the Open Past project. Another task consists in the digitalization of archive documents and in making them available to researchers. The digitalization line is operated by the Department of Digitalization, with digitalization proceeding in two regimes:

• digitalization of individual archive units according to researchers’ requirements
• digitalization of comprehensive sets of documents (filing aids, complete archive funds, etc.) according to the Archive’ requirements

Completion of the digitalization line both in terms of technology and personnel has been set as this year’s priority. Possible securing of financial means from the EU structural funds would allow for a larger part of digitalization to be carried out by way of purchasing services from external suppliers. A major task consists in creating and supplementing files which facilitate or allow for effective search for information and archive materials. Priority is given to the transfer of filing aids (card files, registration and archive protocols) to the electronic form with the aim to make them available to all units of the Institute and the Archive. Another task of the Records Development Department concerns mining of information from records and files.

Department of Information Technologies Administration and Development

Based on the Institute’s Rules of Organization, the Department of Information Technologies Administration and Development ensures fulfilment of the following tasks in cooperation with external suppliers:

• Administration and development of information systems used by the Institute and the Archive
• Setting up the plan of data protection and backup
• Technical administration of digitalized data
• Administration of the Institute’s and the Archive’s presentation on the Web (www.ustrcr.cz a www.abscr.cz)
• Registration and inventory of computer, communication and program equipment
• Administration of the network infrastructure
• Administration of program equipment
• Analyzing the needs of ICT development
• Development of program equipment and its implementation, in cooperation with external suppliers
• Development of Web applications, in cooperation with external suppliers

Department of Digitalization

The Digitalization Department provides for the fulfilment of the following tasks:

• Operation of the digitalization line
• Development of methodologies for archive documents digitalization
• Supervising, in cooperation with the Archive, the digitalization process with an emphasis on effective use of equipment and human resources
• Transfer of archive materials to the electronic form
• Digitalized documents checking
• Description of scanned documents, in cooperation with the Records Development Department
• Entering documents in the documents administration system

Records Development Department

The Records Development Department provides for the fulfilment of the following tasks:

• Data update in information systems operated by the Institute and the Archive
• Creation of electronic filing aids, based on the requirements and needs of the Institute and the Archive
• Data entry in records systems
• Data verification
• Development of methodologies for creating individual files
• Setting requirements for the development of means needed for files completion and use
• Interlinking filing aids with digital archives, in cooperation with the Department of Digitalization.

Part 3 – Institute Office

Major and other tasks

The Institute Office provides for professional and organizational backing of the activity of the Institute Board and its senior staff. It fulfils the function of the Institute Board Secretariat and the Institute Director’s Secretariat, through the mediation of the Department of the Institute Board and the Institute Director’s Agenda. It supervises implementation of the Institute Board’s resolutions and the Institute Director’s decisions, and bears continual responsibility for the work of the Institute’s records service. It is also in charge of the Institute’s Central Records Office. The Legislative and Legal Department drafts legal regulations within the Institute competence and provides for their negotiation in the legislative process. It represents the Institute in legal proceedings, and provides legal services to the Institute. Given the as yet vacant post of a lawyer in the Archive of Security Forces, it also provides legal services to the Archive. It ensures external legal services for the Institute when needed. The Personnel Group is in charge of engaging new employees, in cooperation with senior staff members. It also provides for the Institute’s internal systemization, and elaborates background materials for its wage-related budget. Through the mediation of the press spokesperson it summons and organizes press conferences, monitors information from the mass media relating to the Institute’s activity, and ensures fulfilment of the Institute’s obligations ensuing from Act No. 106/1999 Coll. on free access to information. It is also in charge of updating the Institute’s website. One of the Group’s major tasks in 2008, the first year of the Institute activity, consists in preparing materials for the signing of agreements on cooperation with partner institutions abroad. Based on the approved plan of the Institute’s activity, the Personnel Management Group coordinates the Institute’s participation in and presentation at exhibitions, conferences, trade fairs, etc., and promotes the Institute’s activity and research projects. In cooperation with the Section of Informatics and Digitalization and the Section of Research into Totalitarian Regimes, the group administers and updates the Institute’s website. The current shape of the website was introduced on 17 March 2008 with the aim to provide the general public with a modern interactive access to the presentation of the Institute’s activity and results of research into the time of non-freedom and communist totalitarian power.