Programs & Events 2009
Historic Marshall Plan Films Premiered in Budapest
For the first time ever from June 25-27, a selection of films made to document the European Recovery Program -- better known as the "Marshall Plan" -- was presented in Hungary by Marshall Film historian and curator Sandra Schulberg. With a grant from the U.S. Embassy, the screenings were organized at the Central European University, the Open Society Archives, the Institute for Political Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Perspective Institute.
At the inaugural screening for political scientists, government officials, journalists, and graduate students at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Ms. Schulberg showed six films that dealt with themes of post-conflict recovery & reconciliation, European political & economic integration, land reclamation & re-distribution, political organization & ideology. The films stimulated numerous questions and comments from the audience members, who were surprised and entertained by the different film genres -- animation, docudrama, satire -- and generally fascinated by this glimpse into the Marshall Plan's public diplomacy campaign that lasted from 1948 through 1953. In subsequent screenings diverse Hungarian audiences gained a greater understanding of the role of media and public diplomacy in stabilizing postwar European societies.