80th Anniversary: End of World War II
Eighty years have passed since the end of World War II, the deadliest global conflict in history with enormous civilian sacrifices, holocaust atrocities, most disastrous atomic bomb catastrophes, and the consequent establishment of the United Nations in 1945. To acknowledge this anniversary, NCSML is bringing subject experts together in the May installment of Voices from the Homelands Webinar. During the virtual discussion, viewers are encouraged to participate in the conversation by submitting questions.
Understand the end of World War II through Czech and Slovak stories:
- Recounting of the story of Matt Konop, the first Czech-speaking American soldier to tell the city of Pilsen of their liberation
- Liberation and its interpretations in the 20th and 21st centuries
- American soldiers in Slovakia during WWII
- Czechs and Slovaks reunited after WWII liberation in Czechoslovakia
- Security and peace in present times, as viewed by the U.S. and European Union
Meet the Hosts:
Miroslav (Mirek) Konvalina is a seasoned public diplomacy professional with extensive experience in the Czech Republic and the U.S. He served as director of Czech Center New York and led the American Center at the U.S. Embassy in Prague for seven years. Konvalina studied journalism in both countries and holds a degree in economics. He has worked in government communications, as a Czech Radio correspondent in Washington, D.C., and as director of Czech Radiojournal. He also held a marketing leadership role at Newton Media. An author, documentarian, and curator, Konvalina has hosted a talk show in Prague and is fluent in Czech, English, Russian, and basic German.
Pavol Demeš is an independent foreign policy analyst, civil society expert, photographer, and TV anchor based in Bratislava, Slovakia. Before the 1989 Velvet Revolution, he was a biomedical researcher at Comenius University. He later served as executive director of the Slovak Academic Information Agency, Slovakia’s minister of international relations (1991–1992), and foreign policy adviser to the president (1993–1997). From 2000 to 2010, he directed Central and Eastern Europe programs at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He hosted a TV program on international relations for TASR and has authored numerous works on civil society and diplomacy.
Guests Include:
Patrick Dewane, whose relative Matt Konop was the first Czech-speaking American soldier to tell the city of Pilsen of their liberation
Jan Engler
Dr. Martin Posch
General Pavol Macko
Dr. Doug Biggs
