Kazakhstan Host to the 11th International Scientific and Practical Conference on History

On September 20, Almaty hosted the XI International Historical Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the study of evacuation during the Second World War, as well as the history of the Jews of Central Asia and Western Siberia. The event was conducted in a hybrid format, both online and offline. The conference was attended by researchers, archivists, and interested parties from 10 countries, including Israel, Canada, the United States, Poland, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.

The President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), Dr. Mikhail Mirilashvili, addressed the conference participants with a welcoming speech. He emphasized the importance of the topic under historical investigation, particularly in light of the complex humanitarian situation in the world and attempts by multiple political forces to "deliberately distort the memory of the Second World War, subordinating it to momentary interests." "We simply cannot allow this to happen," the EAJC President noted.

"In the past years, the conference participants have carried out tremendous work, documenting and presenting crucial evidence and historical materials in the annually published collections. This work continues, and once again, we express our deepest gratitude to you, the organizers and participants of the conference, for these efforts. These scholarly materials are intended not only to record historical truth but also to serve as another warning of the tragedies and the terrible, multigenerational consequences of any war. It is particularly difficult to overestimate the relevance of this work today, in our challenging times, when history is being distorted and turned into an ideological weapon, and the Euro-Asian region is once again experiencing a major war and other local armed conflicts."

The conference participants presented reports, articles, and essays dedicated to the history of the Jewish communities of Kazakhstan and Central Asia, as well as the evacuation to Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and Siberia during the Second World War. The conference portfolio comprised a total of 69 reports. The materials were based on documents preserved in archive and library collections. Some essays were also compiled from the memoirs of front-line soldiers, home front workers, their descendants, and veterans of Jewish communities.