8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.

1989 – subsequently hailed as the “year of miracles” – witnessed the sudden and surprising collapse of Europe’s communist dictatorships. Drawing on their involvement in these historic events, the panelists will offer their reflections on the revolutions that swept communism from Eastern Europe in 1989 and consider their aftereffects from the perspective of three decades later.

• Ambassador Andrew Bremberg, President and CEO, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (moderator)
• Ambassador Daniel Fried, Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council; Former U.S. Ambassador to Poland 
• Ambassador Géza Jeszenszky, Former Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. and former Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Ambassador Martin Palouš, Director and Senior Fellow, Florida International University School of International and Public Affairs' Václav Havel Center for Human Rights and Diplomacy Initiative (virtual)

10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

This panel considers the first decade of post-communist transition. The panelists will examine the varying levels of success with which newly sovereign nations ushered in political, economic, and social change while also considering lessons “learned” from this period of systemic transformation.

• Milda Boyce, Director of Fellowship Programs, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (moderator)
• Mark Kramer, Director of Cold War Studies, Harvard University, and Senior Fellow of Harvard's Davis Center (virtual)
• Irena Lasota, President, Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe   
• David Satter, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• Eugeniusz Smolar, Journalist and former dissident (virtual)

11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

The countries of the former Eastern bloc have adopted a variety of approaches to so-called transitional justice. Some have instituted radical lustration regimes, while others have afforded their citizens access to a wide range of files identifying secret informers among former communist officials. This panel will explore the different transitional justice programs pursued throughout the region while also considering the conditions that facilitate or hinder efforts to come to terms with human rights abuses committed under communism.

• Dr. Chelsea Michta, Research Fellow in Polish Studies, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (moderator)

• Dr. Arnaud Kurze, Associate Professor, Montclair State University (virtual)  

• Dr. Dalibor Rohac, Senior Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute   

• Dr. Aleks Szczerbiak, Professor, University of Sussex (virtual)

• Dr. Lavinia Stan, Professor, St. Francis Xavier University (virtual)   

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

• Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Former spokesman for the Solidarity Trade Union, former Defense Minister of Poland, and former Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The past decade has witnessed a surge in efforts to narrate the history of communism through formal channels such as museums, institutes of national memory, and cultural heritage centers. This panel considers initiatives underway in Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus to shape the historical memory of communism.  

• Kristina Olney, Director of Government Relations, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (moderator)
• Janusz Bugajski, Senior Fellow, Jamestown Foundation
• Dr. Hope M. Harrison, Professor, George Washington University (virtual)
• Dr. Hubertus Jahn, Professor, Cambridge University (virtual)
• Andrew Nagorski, Journalist and historian (virtual)

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

The drive to construct and institutionalize historical narratives about the country’s recent past has been especially robust in Poland. The panelists will trace the roots of this phenomenon – referred to in Polish media and scholarship as "polityka historyczna" or "the politics of history" – and discuss their personal involvement in several of its flagship institutions.

• Dr. Chelsea Michta, Research Fellow in Polish Studies, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (moderator)
• Igor Janke, Chairman, Freedom Institute (virtual)
• Dr. Paweł Ukielski, Deputy Director, Warsaw Uprising Museum

3:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

As younger generations come of age with little to no memory of communism, how should post-communist societies integrate the legacy of Soviet rule into their public cultures? What role is technology likely to play in attempts to foster historical awareness? This panel will consider the future of efforts – both “top down” and “bottom up” – to shape popular understandings of the communist past.

• David Satter, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute (moderator)
• Dr. Dorottya Baczoni,  Historian, Institute of Twentieth Century (virtual)

• Dr. Meelis Saueauk,  Senior Researcher, Estonian Institute of National Memory

5:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m.