A conference and a discussion about “National Identities and Museums” are organised by the National Historical Museum, in cooperation with the International Association of Museums of History and ICOM Greece.
The speakers are:
Philippos Mazarakis-Ainian, curator, NHM Greece: The exhibition “Imagining the Balkans”: a new cooperative approach in the museum presentation of a contentious issue.
Ana Stolic, former director, Historical Museum of Serbia: The Balkans: social region or boiling pot of nations?
Dimitris Plantzos, assistant professor, University of Athens: Ancient ruins, national ideologies.
Alexandra Bounia, associate professor, University of the Aegean: National Museums and visitor evaluation: the EUNAMUS project.
Ulrike Kretschmar, Department Director, German Historical Museum (DHM): Working with difficult issues: the DHM experience.
The conference will be followed at 8.00 pm by the screening of the documentary War and Peace in the Balkans, produced by the Goethe Institute and Anemon Productions.
War and Peace in the Balkans
This documentary presents the dramatic changes in the lives of the inhabitants of the Balkan region in the years of World War I, from 1914-18, from Bosnia and Serbia to Bulgaria, Greece and the Ottoman Empire. It focuses upon the non combatant populations, for whom the war was particularly harsh, a prefiguration of the extremities of World War II. The film is based upon rare footage and pictures from the national archives of the Balkans and from collections in Europe, Australia and the USA. Il also contains unpublished material, found through a special cooperation with the Eye Film Institute, the Netherlands. Historians from Greece, the Balkan countries, Turkey and Europe, such as Mark Mazower (University of Columbia), Chris Clark (Cambridge University), Jay Winter (Yale University), Halil Berktay (Sabanci University) and the writer Misha Glenny («The Balkans»), also participate. The documentary was produced on the occasion of the centenary of World War I, as part of the project War and Peace in the Balkans, which also contains a photography exhibition, an online platform and an educational program for children.
Directed by Andreas Apostolidis. Historical Advisor: Christina Koulouri. Production: ΑΝΕΜΟΝ / Yuri Averof, Rea Apostolidi. Research: Leonidas Liambeys