Special Session at the international Memory Studies Association Conference

The Czech-German memory culture resonated with international audience!

Experts from around the world who collaborate to preserve the historical memory of our civilization gathered at the annual Memory Studies Association Conference in Prague. The Future Fund partnered with the event, contributing to the programme and presenting our activities to preserve the memory of the Czech-German past, including the intertwining histories and confrontations of these two nations in the heart of Europe.

At the opening ceremony, Director Tomáš Jelínek emphasised that shared memory can be the key to understanding. This is illustrated by the reconciliation and development of Czech–German relations over the past quarter-century. The quality of these relations is reflected in the partnership and cooperation between the two countries, which in 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War with a number of joint events. Our director spoke about this experience at a panel discussion organized by our partner EVZ Foundation (Erinnerung, Verantwortung, Zukunft).

Foto: Ondřej Staněk

The Special Session on Wednesday, 16 July, was entirely in our hands. In the morning, representatives of 11 organisations involved in our Programme to Support the Development of Non-State Memory Institutions and Initiatives gathered at the Museum of Decorative Arts. We have been supporting their activities for three years, and we watched as they presented their results to a packed hall. We were genuinely delighted by what they had achieved and how they had enriched the memory landscape and civil society. They are all working towards a common goal: Memory’s Alive, the Story Continues! The stories and visions of all 11 organisations can be found on this website.

The afternoon programme was marked by a festive atmosphere. Twenty-five years ago, on 17 July 2000, a Joint Statement was signed, an agreement on symbolic compensation to former concentration camp prisoners and those forced to work for the Nazi regime. This was a success for Czech diplomacy and its perseverance in international negotiations. At the turn of the millennium, the Future Fund was able to distribute almost CZK 8 billion among 87,000 survivors.

We commemorated this significant event together with survivors, on whose behalf Ms Bibiana Szulc Ach spoke. The chief negotiator at the time, Ambassador Jiří Šitler, described the atmosphere of the diplomatic talks and their significance for the survivors, while former Ambassador to Germany Tomáš Kafka, who had been responsible for the compensation in various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared his experience. The ceremony was attended by Petra Dachtler, Representative of the German Embassy in Prague; Darina Sedláčková, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Living Memory; and Andrea Despot, Director of the partner EVZ Foundation.

Our partnership with the annual Memory Studies Association Conference in Prague allowed us to place Czech–German memory culture in an international context and bring it to a wider audience. It also reaffirmed our belief that we shape the memory of our past together.