The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes examines two unfree periods of our modern history: the period of Nazi occupation 1939-45 and the period of communist rule 1948-1989, of course with overlapping years. We focus on the anti-democratic activities of the state's security forces, but we also analyze the circumstances under which an authoritarian regime can grow out of democratic conditions. We proceed from the assumption that with a better knowledge of the principles on which the control of society was built in the past, we will be better able to defend ourselves against current and future threats of limiting human rights.
ÚSTR has a very rich publishing activity and, unlike other scientific institutions, it is also intensively devoted to popularization and education. We cooperate with many Czech and foreign schools and greatly contribute to the modernization of history teaching.
The ÚSTR's partner organization, united in the same budget chapter, is the Archive of Security Forces (ABS). It manages all the documents of all security forces from the time of Nazism and communism, i.e. not only State Security, but also Public Security, civil and military intelligence, and the like. These are accessible to everyone in accordance with the Archives Act.
The management of ÚSTR is based in Dom Radost, nám. Winston Churchilla 1800/2, 130 00 Prague 3.