Kateřina Králová at seminar of the Institute of Ethnology, 6. 5. 2024

Abstract: The preservation of close family ties and non-institutional forms of substitutive care has been a cornerstone in contemporary psychological research and humanitarian practice. However, past experience, such as the case of child refugees from the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) in Eastern Europe, suggests that the institutional approach might have merit in responding to exceptional crises. This talk aims to analyze the memory of Greeks in residential childcare in communist Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary through this lens. By delving into historical records and biographic interviews with former child refugees, it seeks to understand the role of state institutions in managing child migration due to war conditions and its impact. Did these children benefit socially and personally from such care, and what lessons can be learned from similar child evacuations in the past? It has been argued that well-functioning caregiving and education can provide children with emotional relief and contribute to post-conflict reconstruction, conflict prevention, and reconciliation in their own unique way. Thus, the talk aims to contextualize the practice of state socialist care and education, exploring the resilience of children within its economic and institutional system. This presentation is early-stage research planned for a broader project focusing on this topic.

Discussant: Prof. Christian Voss, HU Berlin

pondělí / Monday 6. 5. 2024, 14:00 CET

zasedací místnost Etnologického ústavu AV ČR / Meeting room of the IE CAS

Na Florenci 3, Praha 1

5. patro / 5th floor

ONLINE MS Teams: ZDE/HERE

 Download pdf here.