Organized by Institute of Contemporary History (Czech Academy of Sciences), Masaryk Institute and Archives (Czech Academy of Sciences) and the Prague Center for Jewish Studies at the Charles University
„Chance Collectors of Refugees“: Local and International Humanitarian Interactions in the Bohemian Lands, 1938-1939
1 November 2022, 5:00 pm CET
Laura Brade (Albion College) For much of the 1920s and 1930s, American and British humanitarian organizations perceived their Czechoslovak counterparts as partners in distributing aid to the growing refugee population...
Half Profit, Half Loss – Negotiating Jewish Economic Law in Non-Jewish Courtrooms
11 October 2022, 5:00 CET
Verena Kasper-Marienberg (North Carolina State University) It was common practice that Jewish men and women brought their conflicts before non-Jewish courts throughout the early modern period. This talk explores how, due...
Jewish Moneylending in Medieval Eger (Cheb)
31 May 2022, 5:00 pm CET
Kajetán Holeček (Charles University, Prague) Jews and Christians in Eger (Cheb) were deeply involved in moneylending in the city. A very important source for research of this topic in Eger are the books of obligations...
Asymmetrical Justice: Roma and Jews in the Courtroom
26 April 2022, 5:00 pm CET
Ari Joskowicz (Vanderbilt University, Nashville) After World War Two, Roma and Sinti increasingly looked toward Jewish successes to define their own expectations of post-genocidal justice. At the same time, the legal innovations,...
MemoGIS – the Spatial Exclusion of Jews in Nazi-Occupied Prague
15 March 2022, 5pm CET
Aneta Plzáková and Daniela Bartáková (Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences) The web application "MemoGIS Prague" describes the fates of 30 thousand Holocaust victims from Prague and analyses...
Precarious Survival – Everyday Life of «Mixed Families» During the Nazi Regime in Vienna
22 February 2022, 5:00 pm CET
Michaela Raggam-Blesch (University of Vienna) This lecture will focus on the everyday life and persecution of «mixed families» during the Nazi regime in Vienna. In the context of National Socialist race ideology, marriages...
The seminar is intended to provide a platform for academic discussion about the latest research on Jewish history especially of the last three centuries. Though primarily focused on the Jews of central and east central Europe, the seminar also includes topics related to the Jews of other regions. The seminar is further enriched by including topics not directly concerned with Jews, but enabling one to see Jewish history from other perspectives (for instance, the perspective of other marginalized communities).
Despite our preference for the methods of historical research, the organizers welcome multidisciplinary approaches to the topics, including those of sociology, political science, religious studies, and art history.
During the pandemic the seminar is taking place only virtually as a zoom session. The language of the seminar is English. The seminar is organized by Kateřina Čapková (Institute of Contemporary History), and Michal Frankl (Masaryk Institute and Archive). Since 2018/2019, they cooperate with the Prague Center for Jewish Studies at the Charles University. Your suggestions of speakers should be sent to either capkova@usd.cas.cz or frankl@mua.cas.cz.
