COURAGE

gyűjtemények hálózata

The Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted (VONS) was founded in April 1978 by Charter 77 signatories, although this organisation was independent from Charter 77. The aim of this organisation was to monitor cases of persons that were criminally prosecuted or kept in prison because of their beliefs or became victims of police and judicial despotism. VONS helped individuals facing persecution to obtain legal representation and acted as mediators in acquiring assistance of a financial or other nature. VONS informed the Czechoslovak and international public (e.g. via Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and the BBC) about these cases. Thus, VONS also tried to publicise “non-prominent” Czechoslovak persecuted dissidents, who were not so well-known. A number of VONS members were persecuted by the communist regime; some of them were kept in prison or were forced to emigrate. VONS was also active after November 1989, when it focused on amending the criminal code or preparing rehabilitation laws. In 1996 VONS suspended its activities for an indefinite period.

1859-ben a Habsburg Birodalom területén létrejött a Congregatio Austriaca, amelybe a zirci ciszterci apátság is beletartozott. 1920-ban az Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia részekre bomlott, és időszerűvé vált, hogy a magyar ciszterciek saját viszonyaiknak megfelelően önálló kongregációt alkossanak. 1923-ban XI. Pius pápa felállította a Ciszterci Rend Zirci Kongregációját, amelynek központja Zirc, feje a zirci apát. Ekkor hozzátartozott a Szentgotthárdi Apátság, amelynek címét a zirci apát viseli, továbbá az egri, székesfehérvári, pécsi, bajai, budai és előszállási rendház és a budapesti tanulmányi ház. 1947-től 1977-ig a nagyrészt magyar ciszterciektől benépesített amerikai Spring Bank perjelség (Wisconsin, 1963-tól apátság), 1955-től a magyar ciszterciek által alapított Dallas-i perjelség (1963-tól apátság), végül 1996-tól a ciszterci nővérek apátsága, a Boldogasszony Háza Kismaroson a Zirci Kongregáció tagja lett. A Zirci Kongregáció konstitúcióját hosszú előmunkálatok után először 1941-ben hagyta jóvá a Szentszék.

Magyarországon az államhatalom 1950. szeptember 7-én megtiltotta csaknem az összes szerzetesrend működését, köztük a ciszterciekét is. 1989-ben, amikor a szerzetesrendek újraszerveződhettek, a Zirci Kongregációnak új alkotmányra, új konstitúcióra volt szüksége a megváltozott körülmények miatt, mert akkor már két (Zirc, Dallas), 1996-tól Kismarossal már három apátság tartozik a Kongregációhoz. A Szentszék 1991-ben és 2000-ben jóváhagyta a Zirci Kongregáció új konstitúcióját. A Kongregáció elnöke, prézes apátja a mindenkori zirci apát, közgyűlésének, káptalanjának tagjai a kormányzó apátok és az apátságok választott küldöttei.

The GDR introduced conscription for all males in 1962. Apart from complete refusal to partake in military service, opting to become a construction soldier offered the only other possibility for unarmed service. Construction soldiers were distinguished by a small shovel on their uniforms and built military facilities, served as orderlies in hospitals, but also later as gardeners, kitchen assistants and finally, as laborers. Construction soldiers were often subject to harassment and their social prospects upon completing their military service were dismal.

The informal network of former construction soldiers offered an important and reliable basis for the peace movement, as well as a bloc which advocated for civil service (instead of military service) and peace education initiatives. Between 1964 and 1989, nearly 15,000 men had served in the National People’s Army as construction soldiers. Rainer Eppelmann (the last Defense Minister of the GDR; „Minister for Disarmament and Defense“), the future mayor of Leipzig, Wolfgang Tiefensee, the poet Bert Papenfuß and the songwriter Gerhard Schöne are among the most prominent former construction soldiers.

The Contemporary History Section is part of the Modern and Contemporary History Department, established in 1965. The long years of collecting activity of the museum curators covers the political, economic, cultural and everyday life of Ruse in the period of socialism and post-socialism. The newest tendency in the collecting work of the section is the recording of oral narratives from the period of socialism and democracy, using the "Oral History" method for their storing and examination. The overall fund collection of the section contains approximately 10 000 inventory pieces.

The section has no permanent exhibition, but presents different temporary exhibitions: “The Political Poster”, “125 Years of Maritime Fleet”, together with the Modern History Section and the Maritime Museum in Varna, etc.
The research activity of the specialists covers issues of the political, cultural and public life of Ruse and the region, as well as an ethnological research on the problems of the everyday culture of the industrial town.
The curators at the section "Contemporary History" in 2017 are Vladislav Atanasov and Iskren Velikov, both working at the section since 2009.