Successful Prague Conference on "Science in Exile"

During my recent visit to Prague, I had the opportunity to attend and participate in the special conference relating to "Science in Exile", organized jointly by the the Research Center for the History of Science, associated with the Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Charles University. The conference, which was part of the series "Czech Science in the 20th Century", was held on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of large immigration of German intelligentsia to Czechoslovakia, following Hitler's rise to power. It should be noted that the Czech equivalent of science - "veda"- is much broader than natural sciences and also includes social sciences, literary sciences, historiography etc., which was also reflected in the program.

The conference was convened on 11 November 2003 at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic on Narodni trida 3 in Prague. In terms of its content and the logistics, the conference was an unqualified success, thanks to the principal role of the Center Director, PhDr. Antonin Kostlan, CSc who has had extensive experience with organizing comparable conferences.

The program comprised three major areas, i.e., foreign scientists who found refuge in democratic Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak scientists and scholars in political exile or who emigrated during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945), or after the communists gained control (1948-1968) or following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968-1989). Also included were topics on Jewish scientists who left the country before Nazi annihilation or during the communist era, as well as fate of German scientific institutions after 1945. Considerable part of the conference was devoted to Russian and Ukrainian immigration, while a relatively small component dealt with the political emigration after 1948. My paper "The Exile Scientists after 1948 and their organization Abroad" was included in the latter.

One interesting element which came up during the discussion was the realization that some notable scholars, scientists or literary figures sometimes had shadowy political past which should not be forgotten when one evaluates their live's accomplishments.

The overall theme of the conference was too broad to be able to cover even the most important topics. It was a good beginning which has laid a sound foundation for future systematic treatment of the subject. Each particular era would probably deserve having a separate conference. In the future, it would be desirable to also involve more scientists from abroad, many of whom have aged in years. With the forthcoming SVU World Congress in Olomouc, there will be an opportunity to schedule several symposia or discussion panels in which the subject of "Science in Exile" could be explored further.

Miloslav Rechcigl