EIOCO-European Institute on Communist Oppression

08/09/2026

On September 8, 1968, Ryszard Siwiec committed su***de by public self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He set himself on fire during the nationwide harvest festival at the Stadion Dziesięciolecia (stadium) in Warsaw, Poland in the presence of the leaders of the Polish United Workers’ Party, diplomats and 100,000 spectators.

Ryszard Siwiec was the first person from Central and Eastern Europe to self-immolate in protest of the invasion and the communist oppression. Four months later Jan Palach in Prague did the same in protest of communist regime.

https://eioco.nl/en/ryszard-siwiec-first-self-immolation-against-communist-oppression/

By Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska On September 8, 1968, Ryszard Siwiec committed su***de by public self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He set himself on fire during the nationwide harvest festival at the Stadion Dziesięciolecia (stadium) in Warsaw, Poland in th...

02/09/2026

What does a museum reveal when its subject is not just hashtag , but the hashtag of an entire nation?
During my visit to hashtag , hashtag , in June 2026, I visited the Museum of Victims of Political Repression. Behind its walls are stories of famine, forced collectivization, deportations, labour camps, executions and people who were punished simply for who they were or whom they were related to.
The museum is a powerful reminder that history is not only found in books. Sometimes, it is preserved in the names, photographs and memories of those who never had the chance to tell their own stories.
Let me share with you what I discovered there.

https://eioco.nl/en/remembering-the-victims-inside-kazakhstans-museum-of-political-repression/

In June 2026, I visited the Museum of Victims of Political Repression in the city of Shymkent, Kazakhstan. According to the museum, it is Kazakhstan’s first museum dedicated to the political repression of 1937–1938. It opened on 2 November 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Republic of Kaz...

31/08/2026

33 years ago, on 31 August 1993, the last Russian occupation troops left . At 23:46, the final military echelon crossed the border at Kena making Lithuania the first Baltic country to rid itself of the Russian military presence.

It was the culmination of a long struggle for freedom. troops had occupied Lithuania since June 1940, following the secret protocols of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Lithuania restored its independence on 11 March 1990, after decades of resistance, the movement and the 1989 Baltic Way.

Photo: LRT

31/08/2026

31 August 1980 — the birth of .

Today marks 46 years since took a stand.
After 35 years of rule, economic hardship, shortages and rising food prices sparked a wave of strikes across Poland. In July 1980, workers in Lublin began protesting. On 14 August, the strike reached the Shipyard, where workers, led by electrician L**h Wałęsa, stood up not only for better working conditions, but for fundamental rights.

Their demands included the right to strike and, above all, the creation of an independent trade union.

On 31 August 1980, the government finally agreed to sign the Gdańsk Agreement. Solidarność (Solidarity) was born: the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc.

What began as a workers’ strike soon became a nationwide movement. At its peak, Solidarity brought together around 10 million members and became a powerful force for freedom, human rights and democracy.

Nine turbulent years later, Solidarity leaders negotiated the peaceful end of communist rule in Poland. Just months after the historic elections of June 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.

The road to freedom was not easy. But on 31 August 1980, Polish workers showed that solidarity can be stronger than oppression.

Today, we remember their courage and the millions of people across Central and Eastern Europe who fought for freedom, human rights and a Europe united in democracy.



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Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska When the Polish government under Edward Gierek introduced new food price increases in the summer of 1980 and Poland faced big international debt and shortages of supplies, a wave of labor unrest was stirred in the country. In July a series of strikes started in Lublin and....

28/08/2026

Estonians celebrate first anniversary of Blessed Profittlich’s beatification

“Blessed Profittlich is a symbol of the tragedy experienced by the Estonian people during the Stalinist deportations of the 20th century (…) He decided of his own accord not to abandon the people entrusted to his care and to share the tragic fate of the tens of thousands of Estonians who lost their lives in Soviet prisons.”

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2026-08/estonia-catholics-first-anniversary-beatification-eduard-profitt.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NewsletterVN-EN

Read my article about Blessed Eduard Profittlich – A Martyr of Communism and the First Blessed of Estonia for EIOCO-European Institute on Communist Oppression

https://eioco.nl/en/eduard-profittlich-a-martyr-of-communism-and-the-first-blessed-of-estonia/

Estonian Embassy in The Hague

23/08/2026

Today is one of the most powerful and moving days in the history of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, a true testament to the courage, unity and unbreakable spirit of these nations.

On 23 August 1989, at 19:00, approximately two million Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians joined hands, forming an extraordinary human chain stretching through these three countries. The Baltic Way spanned nearly 700 kilometres and became a powerful symbol of solidarity, freedom and the determination to regain independence.

The date was no coincidence. Exactly 50 years earlier, on 23 August 1939, N**i Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact also whose secret protocols sealed the fate of the Baltic states and paved the way for their Soviet occupation in 1940.

For decades, the Soviet Union denied the existence of these secret protocols and claimed that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had voluntarily joined the USSR. On 23 August 1989, the people of the three Baltic nations demanded the truth and the restoration of their independence.

Their peaceful act of unity helped change history. The Soviet Union was eventually forced to acknowledge the existence of the secret protocols and declare them invalid. The Baltic Way became one of the defining moments on the road to restored independence.

We had the privilege of retracing the Baltic Way by car a few years ago, in honour of this extraordinary moment in history. Even today, it remains one of the most powerful journeys we have ever undertaken.

A reminder that freedom is never guaranteed, that truth matters, and that when people stand together, even the most powerful empires can be challenged.

Today, we remember. And we honour the courage of the Baltic nations.

23/08/2026

Remember August 23, 1939: “Black Ribbon Day”

Eighty years after the strike of the totalitarian powers Patrick van Schie You could already smell war in the air in the summer of 1939; unlike in 1914 when after the murder of Austrian crown prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife it was thought for weeks that it would not go so fast. Hitler’s [......

18/08/2026

In June 2026, the chair of our board Ms Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska had the opportunity to visit a museum in , the capital of , dedicated to the victims of Tsarist and Soviet rule. The State Museum of Memory of Victims of Repression offers a compelling insight into one of the most difficult chapters of the country’s modern history, preserving the memory of those who suffered political repression and persecution.

EIOCO: https://eioco.nl/en/the-state-museum-of-memory-of-victims-of-repression-in-tashkent-commemorating-the-victims-of-political-repression/

Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska In June 2026, I had the opportunity to visit a fascinating museum in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, dedicated to the victims of Tsarist and Soviet rule. The State Museum of Memory of Victims of Repression offers a compelling insight into one of the most difficult chap...

21/05/2026

Under communist rule, religion was often suppressed and the Church was seen as a threat to the state. Across Central and Eastern Europe, Christians faced persecution, churches were monitored, and many priests were imprisoned, tortured, or killed for remaining faithful to their mission. In Poland, for example, the priest Jerzy Popiełuszko was brutally murdered by the communist regime because of his outspoken defense of faith, human dignity, and freedom.

https://eioco.nl/en/father-jerzy-popieluszko-a-martyr-of-solidarity-and-a-symbol-of-resistance-against-communist-tyranny/

The story of Czech priests Jan Bula and Václav Drbola belongs to this tragic chapter of history. Falsely accused by the communist authorities in Czechoslovakia, both men were executed in the early 1950s out of hatred for the faith. Today, they are honoured as martyrs and are awaiting beatification.

https://eioco.nl/en/czech-priests-martyred-by-communism-honoured-ahead-of-beatification/

14/05/2026