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The mission of the Open Society Archives at Central European University (OSA) is to:
- obtain, preserve and make available research resources for the study of Communism and the Cold War, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the issues of human rights;
- support the goals of Central European University by identifying, collecting, preserving and making available university records and personal papers of enduring value from its administrators, faculty, and students for the use of university staff, students, scholars and the general public;
- support and facilitate the philanthropic goals of the Soros foundations network, especially by providing information, records management and archival services for all its entities.
The Open Society Archives' holdings comprise of approximately 3,000 linear meters of records that generally reflect the Archives' mission. Based on their provenience as well as their focus OSA holdings are divided into three main groups that cover history of Communism and the Cold War, Human Rights related issues, and the activities of the Soros foundation network (see OSA's Acquisition Policy). However, the full list of OSA holdings discloses the fact that, because of the strong interconnection between region's recent history, related human rights dimension and the Soros foundations' specific interest in the matter, listed fonds frequently surpass the structure imposed.
The specific nature of OSA's profile is also being stressed through its rapidly growing number of audiovisual materials gathered with the intention to establish an audiovisual research center and a non-circulating video library of regional propaganda, historical and feature films, as well as regional TV news programs and amateur footage.
To assist researchers in making better use of the Archives holdings, OSA has established a series of Reference Information Papers (RIP) on selected topics.
Communism and the Cold War
By far the most comprehensive fonds related to the history of Communism and the Cold War in Central and Eastern Europe is that of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute (RFE/RL). These materials were accumulated during the 45 years of continuous activity, and are thus a major source of information about the region's post-war political, social and economic history. Of considerable importance are also Russian, Polish and Hungarian Samizdat materials.
Related info: List of Communism and the Cold War - related Fonds.Human Rights
OSA holdings related to the human rights issues comprise a variety of fonds created by non-governmental and supra-governmental organizations active in post World War Central and Eastern Europe . Most important among these fonds are the International Helsinki Federation, the Human Rights Law Institute related to the conflicts in former Yugoslavia, Index on Censorship as well as the Physicians for Human Rights.
Related info: Human Rights - related Fonds.Soros foundations network
OSA, as the official archives of the network of Soros foundations, is responsible for preserving non-current records of the foundations which have been identified as having historical value. Among these, the most noticeable records are those of the Open Society Institutes in New York and in Budapest and Central European University , Budapest .
Related info: Soros foundations network - related Fonds.
To learn more about OSA, its history, mission and involvements, please see annual activities reports (in PDF):Subscribe to OSA mailing list
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