1. Approval of the Secretary General’s Activities Report.
2. Approval of the Treasurer’s Financial Report.
3. Vote on the venue for the 20th International Congress of Historical Sciences in 2005.
4. Discussion on the 1995-2000 quinquennium and the future.
5. Election of the 2000-2005 Bureau.
6. Other matters.

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Pres. Ivan Berend opened the meeting by making a few remarks and then called for the vote on the first two items of the Agenda.


1. — Approval of the Secretary General’s Activities Report

The Secretary General’s Activities Report was unanimously approved.


2. — Approval of the Treasurer’s Financial Report

The members of the General Assembly took note of, but had no questions about the financial documents that the Treasurer presented on behalf of the Bureau. Pres. Berend gave the floor to the auditors who had been appointed at the preceding Assembly, Prof. Kathleen Burk and Prof. Gregory Kealey, who read their report (text appended).

The members of the General Assembly unanimously approved the report and released the Bureau’s responsibility for financial management of years 1997, 1998 and 1999.


In answer to a delegate’s question on ways to encourage certain National Committees to reorganise themselves and, in particular, pay their annual membership dues regularly, the Treasurer said that as an international overall organisation, ICHS could not intervene in the internal affairs of the National Committees which should ensure their management efficiency themselves.


3. — Vote on the venue of the 20th International Congree of Historical Sciences in 2005.

A brief discussion was held prior to voting on the candidacy presented by Australia. The Assembly unanimously voted in favour of Sydney. The delegates from Australia were very pleased with this decision and thanked the members of the General Assembly.


4. — Discussion on the 1995-2000 quinquennium and the future

Pres. Ivan Berend gave the floor to the audience and reminded them that the General Assembly provided an especially favourable opportunity for ICHS members to express themselves and convey their views.

Several delegates criticised the procedure for electing members to the Bureau. The proposals from the Nominating Committee are presented so late that the General Assembly members do not have time for careful thought and therefore cannot vote on them with full knowledge of the facts.

Prof. Rolf Torstendahl (Sweden) suggested that in the future the Nominating Committee’s list of proposals should be circulated one month in advance.

Pres. Berend took note of the suggestion and added that it would be up to the new Bureau to deal with the problem. François Bédarida pointed out the need to respect the ICHS Constitution, in particular Art. 5 on procedures to be followed by the Nominating Committee.

Prof. Vigezzi said he hoped that the member organisations would be consulted more often and that their suggestions would be taken into account. Furthermore, he regretted that the papers of the international commissions had not been published in the proceedings.


François Bédarida said that none of them had sent in their papers early enough. Even Lange, also on this issue, said that any papers that reached the Norwegian Organising Committee before 1 October 2000 would be included in the CD-ROM that is going to be produced.

Concerning the Sydney Congress, Prof. Keith Jeffery (Ireland) suggested that the Bureau launch an appeal for funds to be used as grants to facilitate the participation of young historians and specialists from the less endowed countries. The Treasurer took note of this suggestion and thanked Prof. Jeffery.


5. —Election of the 2000-2005 Bureau

Natalie Davis, the First Vice President, recalled that the Nominating Committee’s proposals for the 2000-2005 Bureau had already been presented at the first General Assembly on 6 August.

In the ensuing discussion, Prof. Berindei (Romania) regretted that a long tradition was coming to an end, the tradition that since the beginning of ICHS the post of Secretary General of the International Committee of Historical Sciences had devolved to a French historian. He appreciated that the next candidate for the post of Secretary General was a French-speaking Canadian but feared that the use of the French language, with time, would become thinner and thinner. He also pleaded in favour of German, Spanish and Russian.

Natalie Davis expressed satisfaction with the excellent transition to be expected thanks to the candidacy of Jean-Claude Robert.

A “raised hands” vote was then held.

There were 57 votes (40 from the National Committees and 17 from the Affiliated International Organisations):

– “for” 52
– “against” 0
– “abstentions” 5

After thanking the General Assembly for this large majority, the outgoing president, Ivan Berend, gave the floor to the new Bureau.

Pres. Jürgen Kocka, in turn, thanked the Assembly for the confidence it had just expressed in the new team, which will do its best and continue to work with due scientific rigour. The new Secretary General, Jean-Claude Robert, took the floor and energetically asserted that he would ensure that the French language was not played down in the General Assemblies nor in ICHS’ work.


6. — Other matters

— Georg Iggers read a statement concerning the director of the Munich Institut für Zeitgeschichte.

— Renate Bridenthal and Jürgen Kocka presented a draft “resolution” that they would like the General Assembly to adopt as a press release expressing the concern and disapproval of the International Committee of Historical Sciences “about right-wing extremist manifestations and assaults in Germany and other parts of Europe” and condemning “these signs of barbarism”, and the serious threat that racism and xenophobia represent “for a democratic and civil society in general and for the work of socially responsible historians in particular”.

This press release was co-signed by a handful of members of the General Assembly and gave rise to very abundant discussion. After the authors of the motion explained their arguments, many speakers put forth a different opinion.

François Bédarida said that although, personally, he agreed with the principles set out in the motion, it was not up to ICHS to intervene all the time in the affairs of the world: why not talk about Checheny or Rwanda or Srebenica? It is the mission of ICHS to defend and protect persecuted, censured and threatened historians, in the name of freedom of research and freedom to publish (as it did shortly ago at the request of the historians of the Academy of Science of Slovakia), but ICHS cannot and should not replace organisations such as Amnesty International whose vocation is to intervene in such cases. This involves a problem of principle that commits ICHS and its future. Each person, of course, is free to act individually when faced with such unacceptable situations but ICHS, as an institution, is not the right place for this sort of action.

Pres. Berend and Natalie Davis full agreed with the Secretary General. Others, including Prof. John Rogister, also said much the same. After further arguments were brought out, in particular by Prof. Jürgen Kocka and Prof. Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch, the text was put to the vote: 35 against, 10 for and 7 abstentions. The motion, thus, was rejected.


— Prof. Brandmüller (Holy See) then took the floor to read a motion-petition against the decline of the classical languages.

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Before the Assembly ended, the new president, Jürgen Kocka, expressed his warmest appreciation to the six outgoing Bureau members: Rosario Villari, Hiroyuki Ninomiya, Alexandre Tchoubarian, Natalie Davis, Ivan Berend, and especially François Bédarida who can never be sufficiently praised for the talent, energy and time that he devoted for the last ten years to the weighty often ingratiating task of Secretary General.