At a time when Europe is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, history is once again becoming a major issue. Glorious and frozen narratives are mobilized to justify old dominations or new aggressions. Faced with the political instrumentalization of the past, a group of historians committed to renewing the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR is offering a series of public lectures. Their goal: to make accessible the most recent research findings, resulting from years of work on archives and direct testimonies collected throughout the region.
These interventions invite us to rethink the exit from war in the East, beyond imposed narratives, by giving back their place to contradictions, repressed memories, and post-1945 realities. To question this period is to shed light on the ever-present fractures of our present. It is also a better understanding of how the political uses of history continue to influence the balance of power in Europe today.
November 5, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Free admission
at the Edmond J. Safra auditorium
By
After the major population displacements linked to the war, the reconfiguration of the western borders of the USSR led to massive transfers of people perceived as foreigners, called upon to return to their nation of origin. Between Poland and Soviet Ukraine, enlarged by the attachment of eastern Galicia and Volhynia, one and a half million people were forced to leave for the West or the East. This conference explores how Moscow organized these exchanges in the chaotic post-war period and the human experience of displaced populations.
November 26, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Free admission
at the Edmond J. Safra auditorium
By
Despite their violence, the Soviet regime and the current Russian government affirm the importance of law and legal institutions, while remaining wary of the rule of law. The post-war period illustrates the tension between legality and executive control, showing how law functions as a myth and legitimizing force of power, sometimes at odds with authoritarian rule. The conference is based on concrete examples: training of lawyers, prosecution of war criminals, legislation against theft, etc.
December 16, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Free admission
at the Edmond J. Safra auditorium
By
The occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union of the Baltic states, eastern territories of Poland and Romanian territories expanded the activity of the Soviet film industry. Despite the interruption due to the Nazi occupation, Soviet cinema, from its reconquest in 1944, confronted political and social legacies, documenting war crimes, relaying the thirst for justice and participating in visual propaganda in contexts of (re)conquest.
About:
This cycle of meetings is presented by the association Mémorial France, a non-profit organization governed by the law of 1 July 1901 and the decree of 16 August 1901. It was created on 1 April 2020. The association aims to support the memory of human rights violations in the past and the defense of rights today in the states of the former USSR and the former Eastern bloc, as well as to enrich public reflection on institutional violence in authoritarian and illiberal regimes.
