1st International Egodocumental Network Conference
Vilnius University, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the University of Lodz, and the Egodocumental Research Group (https://egodocuments.umk.pl) organise an international conference focusing on research, development, and changing perceptions of egodocuments in the twenty-first century. The conference aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines to share their insights and to encourage interdisciplinary studies of egodocuments.
The conference will also be the first meeting of the International Egodocumental Network established in December 2023 by the Egodocumental Research Group (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the University of Lodz) to unite scholars from different disciplines working on egodocuments. It provides a platform for discussion, collaboration, and exchange of information between the participants, as well as online research seminars organized twice a year. In this dimension, our conference continues two editions of the Scientific Symposium "Egodocuments, Life-Writing and Autobiographical Texts..." organized at NCU in Toruń in 2022 and 2024.
Keynote speakers
Dr. Nataliia Voloshkova
Kazimierz Wielki University and Oxford Brookes University
Prof. Leona Toker
Hebrew University and Shalem Academic College
Prof. François-Joseph Ruggiu
Sorbonne Université, CNRS and Oxford University
Mariusz Fornagiel
Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Voice of the Powerless. Petitions for the Release of Prisoners Interned by the NKVD in Slovakia as an Attempt to Negotiate with the Totalitarian State
Independent Czechoslovakia served as a valuable lesson in democratic participation for the people of Slovakia. However, internalized behaviours underwent considerable transformation during the authoritarian and totalitarian wartime period of the Slovak Republic (M. Vadkerty, 2015). The subsequent occupation by the Red Army did not alter this dynamic. Shortly after the front advanced, NKVD units initiated a widespread campaign of arrests targeting Czechoslovak citizens. Family members of those detained often sought assistance from Czechoslovak authorities, by employing established channels of communication.
This created a complex situation for representatives of the newly formally democratic Czechoslovakia, who found themselves caught in a peculiar triangle. They were tasked with addressing requests from citizens while operating within a framework heavily influenced by the totalitarian state, specifically, the Soviet Union.
The objective of this paper is to analyse these egodocuments as attempts to negotiate with a totalitarian regime. It will focus on the rhetorical strategies employed within these documents, the portrayal of the arrest experiences, and the emotional resonance of the narratives. Furthermore, it will investigate the mechanisms utilized by representatives of the popular classes, who navigated a position of limited authority in the face of a more powerful state apparatus.
