CREEES at UT Austin

https://thedailytexan.com/2026/03/11/czechmates-anna-and-kacka-pavelkova-have-formed-a-special-connection-on-and-off-the-court/

Czechmates: Anna and Kacka Pavelkova have formed a special connection on and off the court Freshmen twins from the Czech Republic are taking the sand in Austin by storm. Anna and Kacka Pavelkova are not just two freshmen waiting for their turn – they’re making an immediate impact on Texas beach volleyball. And they’re doing it as a sibling duo. The Pavelkovas are already one of the ...

Community lecture and concert featuring visiting scholar Anna Barbara Kastelewicz and CREEES Outreach Coordinator Catherine Forrest.

This event, in memory and appreciation of the art performed and created in Soviet "Special Camps," was dedicated by the host to those living in hellscapes today, and guests took a moment in gratitude and hope for them.

erupcja: Learn some Polish with Charli xcx in this film by Pete Ohs, playing this week and next at Alamo Drafthouse Austin.

Tix here: https://drafthouse.com/austin/show/erupcja?cinemaId=0004&sessionId=245124&date=2026-04-23

1-2 Special

We're ending the semester with a talk from Klejd Luan Kellici: Tracking Dead Bodies: Burials, Reburial, and Regimes of Memory in Albania, 1930s-1970s.

Friday, April 24 at 12 pm UTC-5 Online

Register at bit.ly/UTBalkanCircle

Take Russian online over the summer!

Classes meet once per week online.

Open to all via The University Extension!

https://extension.utexas.edu/languages-russian

On CREEES' Cold War Chronicles: “We wanted everything in each folder, even if it’s a weird slip of paper saying the memo is on the next page,” Mary Neuburger says, noting that other digital archives are often curated to include only what their creators deem to the be the most important documents. The Cold War Chronicles’ approach, however, “makes you feel more like you’re in the archives,” she says. “A given page might be irrelevant to most people, but it might be interesting you.”

Cold War Crate Digging Cover of Romania Today, July 1968, artist Emilia Baboia.FeaturesCold War Crate Digging By Alex Reshanov April 6, 2026 facebook twitter email On the evening of August 16, 1967, Charles H. Jordan, a U.S. citizen and humanitarian visiting Prague, left his hotel for a walk and did not return. Four days....

Latest from Dr. Lorinc Redei:

"His regime had lasted as long as it did because it was extremely adept at rigging the electoral system and stoking polarization in society. Yet those very strengths proved to be its undoing."

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/how-orban-defeated-himself

(If you don't want to sign in for a free account, DM us and we'll send you the PDF.)

The LBJ School of Public Affairs

How Orban Defeated Himself Lessons from Hungary for pro-democracy movements worldwide.

THURSDAY 4/16: Music and "Kultura" in the Soviet Special Camps in German 1945-1950
BUR 214 | 3:30 PM-5:30 PM with visiting scholar Anna Barbara Kastelewicz

Presentation / Workshop and Concert Content

1. The Soviet Special Camps – Foundations and Overview This course provides an introduction to the Soviet Special Camps established after 1945. It explores why these camps were created, their political purpose, geographical locations, and different forms. Particular attention is given to the inmates: who they were, why they were imprisoned, and the conditions under which they lived.

2. Music and Cultural Activities in the Soviet Special Camps This seminar examines musical and cultural life within the Special Camps, focusing on both phenomena: secret, informal practices and officially organized activities. What role did music play in sustaining life and identity under extreme conditions? Using manuscripts, testimonies, and reports by former inmates, the course highlights performers, artists, and cultural events held in the camp “Kultura.”

3. Music from the Special Camps – A short Concert Performance of Compositions in the Camps – Music under Extreme Conditions This workshop focuses on musical compositions created within the Soviet Special Camps. The course asks how music functioned as expression, survival strategy, and memory in situations of repression. This event combines live performance with historical commentary. Music composed and performed in the Soviet Special Camps will be presented alongside contextual explanations of the works, the composers’ biographies, and the extraordinary circumstances under which this music emerged.

Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music

Central and Eastern Europe have a film catalog like no other! Immerse yourself in the arts the way they were meant to be explored. Study abroad scholarships available!

Moody College of Communication - UT Austin Texas Language Center Texas Global at The University of Texas at Austin