Selling Democracy - Then and Now. The Films of the Marshall Plan in a Modern Context. June 24, 2009

The Institute for Political Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Embassy of the United States of America would like to invite you to a screening and discussion in English

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MARSHALL PLAN FILMS: 1948-1953
Date: June 25, Thursday, 10.00-13.00
Venue: MTA Politikai Tudományok Intézete, Jakobinus Terem (Budapest I. Országház utca 30.)

The films showcase the European recovery plan instigated by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall after WWII. The Marshall Plan films were made by European filmmakers for European audiences. Made in a variety of styles, the Marshall Plan films are distinguished by their intelligence and wit. The filmmakers found artful ways to engage audiences who had become inured to Nazi and Allied propaganda. The films also challenged audiences to become active citizens, to grapple with the competing Western and Soviet ideologies on offer, and to make conscious choices about what kind of postwar society they wanted to build. What almost no one remembers about the Marshall Plan is that the Europeans matched the U.S. investment through the creation of Marshall Plan counterpart funds, cooperating with each other for the first time, and laying the groundwork for the European Common Market. Cooperation became the watchword of the Marshall Plan, permitting whole societies to lay down their weapons, transcend the bitterness of war, and work towards the European Union.

The presenter of the films, Sandra Schulberg, is a distinguished film executive and producer. She is the daughter of Stuart Schulberg, chief of the Marshall Plan Motion Picture Section from 1950-1952.

Welcome speech: József Bayer, Professor, Director of the Institute for Political Science of HAS

Moderator: Hortenzia Hosszú Ph.D., Research Fellow, Institute for Political Science of HAS

Conference information provided by konferenciakalauz.hu

Official Website: http://www.mtapti.hu/pdf/marshall.pdf