Memory of Totalitarianism/Latvia

Whether we are Latvian, Georgian, Slovene, Hungarian or German, we have in common a generation of parents and grandparents who lived under totalitarian regimes.

Meeting in historically significant sites, we can therefore set a very special example for a peaceful, tolerant and open European encounter. We will investigate the mechanisms of authoritarianism and trace the paths that led societies and nations to democracy. How did this political inheritance shape the understanding of constitutionality in each of our countries and how does it influence political developments to this day?

The first port of call in this long-term project will be the Latvian capital Riga this summer. Latvia regained independence just 31 years ago. Their path was full of setbacks: first the occupation of an independent Latvia by the Red Army, and then German occupation and the era of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic which lasted until 1990.

With this local experience in mind, we shall focus on everyday life under a totalitarian regime. We will investigate societal opposition and civil courage in the face of the mechanisms of extortion and propaganda. Visits to museums such as the Latvian Museum for Occupation and analysing the memorial sites we visit, as well as talks with experts, will provide the necessary input.

Free time and sport are quite as much part of our programme – excursions in Latvia's fabulous landscape, canoeing trips and bathing in the Baltic, for example. Camp language is English.

The next ports of call in our project "Memory of Totalitarianism" will be Germany in 2023 and Georgia.