Totalitarian Circus consists of

- outdoor large scale exhibition Calendarium of Totalitarianism

- theatre project and performance PERSONAL HISTORY In 1989 I was five years old... it’s just skin deep for me

- exposition presentation of the Totalitarian Simulator

- accompanying publication Věčné časy (Eternal Times)

- the Workbook and theme-based teaching and discussion kit

The Totalitarian Circus multi-genre showcase is intended for the general public: both those who experienced totalitarian Czechoslovakia first-hand and the first “free generation” born after November 1989. All the Totalitarian Circus projects try to draw attention to ‘little’ personal stories against the background of ‘big’ history. We wanted the constructive nature of our projects to kindle widespread interest in what life was like during the totalitarian period. So far, there had been no systematic teaching of our totalitarian history, and so today’s youngest generation, born after the revolution, knows precious little about totalitarianism. We know that the largest burden of totalitarianism is borne by the generations now aged over fifty. Unfortunately, most of them don’t know how to deal with this burden or try to ignore it. They are often ashamed of their failures under totalitarianism, and try to bury them. It is up to the children to start asking their parents questions. How they lived under totalitarianism, why they often behaved in a manner in conflict with their beliefs, what reasons and root causes led to this. This is not meant to be an exercise for parents to defend themselves, but for them to explain the circumstances behind their actions and for their children to gain a deeper insight.

Totalitarian Circus visited during the year 2009: Prague (April 23rd - May 3rd, exhibition of Calendarium was extended until the end of May), Pilsen (May 27th - June 1st, programme extended by exhibition Revolutionary Posters and vault films screening), Most (November 4th - 20th).

Calendarium of Totalitarianism
Calendarium of Totalitarianism is a freely accessible outdoor travelling exhibition which, in the form of a stylized bus stop, offers visitors a comparative overview of major landmarks in the post-war autocratic history of four countries engulfed by Communist totalitarianism: Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and the German Democratic Republic. Faced with all the most significant moments on a single timeline, visitors will be able to form a picture of the features shared by the totalitarian systems that controlled society in the different states, and how the citizens of these countries coped with them.

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PERSONAL HISTORY
In 1989 I was five years old... its just skip deep for me
Personal History is a theatre production by a team headed by Petra Tejnorová. In 1989, they were around five years old and had virtually no real experience of totalitarianism. Drawing on oral history, their own memories and a six-month quest, the producers and actors tried to view the recent totalitarian past in an utterly blurred and very open way from various angles. Their goal was not to unearth any truths about the current state of society or form a uniform generational opinion on a time now past, because their encounters with the past brought surprises rather than conflict.

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Model of Totalitarian Simulator
Totalitarian Simulator is the biggest current project of OPONA NGO. The study (studey and model) for this large-scale interactive exhibition has been put together by historians, teachers and artists to enable visitors, at some point in the future, to learn about and experience first-hand the situations specific to different stages of life at various times under totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia (1948–89).
The model of the spectacular Totalitarian Simulator sheds light on the principle of this planned project: how visitors become a virtual person on the threshold of adulthood at the time of the political coup in 1948 and how they are sucked into the society of totalitarian Czechoslovakia. In the Simulator, visitors will have the chance to respond to real events, take decisions for their virtual character, and immediately see how their reactions compare to the real stories and fates of people living under totalitarianism.

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Věčné časy (Eternal Times)
This book offers three ways of recalling everyday life under totalitarianism. The first part comprises the confessional reflections of people from different generations and with varying fates: Václav Havel, Jiřina Šiklová, Karel Hvížďala, Jan Ruml and Martin C. Putna. Another part, by the historian Kamil Činátl, attempts to capture the way major historical milestones blend in with everyday totalitarianism. The Czechoslovak totalitarian years are a collage of political, social and cultural events, juxtaposed to reflect their absurd interplay between 1945 and 1989. The terminology used under totalitarianism is compiled as a glossary of terms typical for everyday life in a Communist world. The publication also includes a list of important domestic and foreign institutions which specialize in the totalitarian era. The text is complemented by a wide range of period photographs and images of everyday life under totalitarianism. Eternal Times is a richly illustrated basic guide to the years under Czechoslovak totalitarianism, serving as a platform for extraordinary reflections on the personal memories and failures of the authors of the essays.

The book was published on 27 April 2009 as part of the Respekt series in collaboration with the Václav Havel Library. The book is only in Czech.

Workbook
The Workbook and theme-based teaching and discussion kit is designed as a teaching aid on Czech totalitarian history.
This guidance for primary and secondary school teachers was prepared by Gemini, a civil association run by Filip Hotový and Nina Rutová and is a natural project supplement aimed at provoking intergenerational discussion on totalitarianism.

Visit photo gallery here.