Call for Papers – Childhood in Times of Unfreedom

Date: 15–16 June 2026

Venue: National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J. A. Comenius (NPMK), Valdštejnská
20, Prague 1

Organisers: National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J. A. Comenius; Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences – Centre for the History of Education

Conference languages: English, Czech

The National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J. A. Comenius invites scholars to submit papers for the international conference Childhood in Times of Unfreedom. The event accompanies the exhibition Childhood under the Swastika (2025), commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. While the exhibition focuses on children’s lives under Nazi occupation, the conference adopts a broader chronological and geographical perspective, exploring children’s experiences under totalitarian, authoritarian, colonial, occupying, and otherwise oppressive regimes across the 20th century. Accordingly, the proposed thematic areas are divided into two sections: topics related to the Second World War and broader perspectives on childhood in times of unfreedom.

Welcome are contributions that analyze how political power, ideology, war, persecution, and systemic violence shape childhood, education, family life, and children’s identities. Special emphasis is placed on education and schools as key sites where regimes attempt to influence, discipline, or control children and teachers.

The conference is interdisciplinary and open to scholars in history, education, childhood studies, sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science, literary and cultural studies, memory studies, museum studies, and related fields.

The international conference Childhood in Times of Unfreedom is organised by the National Pedagogical Museum and Library of J. A. Comenius in cooperation with the Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences and its Centre for the History of Education.

Submission deadline: 15 May 2026