International Education Conference The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum 4th-5th July 2017 Events related to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim were organized under the auspices of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland prof. dr. hab. Piotr Gliński DRAFT 1
Conference goals and objectives: The knowledge that was given to us by Witnesses obliges us to launch a debate on challenges in education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust that we face at present and will be facing in the future. The Conference will be attended by prominent intellectuals as well as representatives of the memorial sites and museums from all over the world who encourage reflection on the present state and importance of historical education at memorial sites. The program encompasses presentations including the results of the most recent research and good practice. The 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in July 2017 will be an inspiration not only for the evaluation of the current educational activity, but also an attempt to reflect on the message of Auschwitz and the Holocaust, its timeliness and significance for the contemporary generations. It is therefore worth undertaking a critical review of the methodological guidelines and practice in education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust as well as posing a question how it will be developed and implemented in the future. The international debate is an opportunity to emphasize the role of Auschwitz and other museums and memorial sites play in shaping the historical awareness of the young generation and adults to disseminate the knowledge, promote the attitudes of social responsibility and prevent the crime of genocide. Issues: The main areas of concern are: Auschwitz Message Particularism Versus Universalism Modern Representations and Reception of Auschwitz Witnesses of History as Memory Depositaries Carriers of Memory and New Technologies Visits at the Memorial Sites as Exceptional Educational Experience Shoah Challenge for the Future Conference languages: English and Polish Organizer: The International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum 2
4 JULY 2017 09:30 CONFERENCE OPENING Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum 10:00-12:30 INAUGURATION PANEL Since Auschwitz nothing has happened that would prevent another Auschwitz from happening again. Before Auschwitz, Auschwitz was unimaginable. That is no longer so today. Imre Kertész Participants: Sara Bloomfield, Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński, Prof. Alain Chouraqui Moderator: Marek Zając What questions do visitors ask at the memorial sites concerning threats to the world around us and do they find answers? What are the challenges that memorial sites need to face in shaping the universal reflection on the Shoah? What are the experience of the memorial sites in counteracting xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance? 12:30 13:00 BREAK 13:00-15:00 'Difficult Returns... - the Auschwitz Museum in Reminiscences of Survivors Halina Birenbaum, Dr. Janina Iwańska, Prof. Zbigniew Kączkowski, Roman Kent, Marian Turski Chairs: Krystyna Oleksy, Christoph Heubner 15:00 16:00 BREAK 3
16:00-18:30 PANEL DISCUSSION 'Auschwitz and the Holocaust. Message - Particularism Versus Universalism' Participants: Prof. Yehuda Bauer, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Prof. Deborah Lipstadt, Bp. Grzegorz Ryś, Prof. Nikolaus Wachsmann Moderator: Prof. Barbara Engelking What is the message of Auschwitz and the Holocaust at present? How has it changed over the subsequent decades? Auschwitz and the Holocaust and the challenges of the modern world 19:30 20:30 DINNER 5 JULY 2017 9:00-11:00 PANEL DISCUSSION 'Modern Representations and Reception of Auschwitz' Participants: Affinity Konar, Prof. Marek Kucia, Michal Rovner, Prof. Tadeusz Lubelski, Marek Zając Moderator: Dr. Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska What is the place of Auschwitz and the Holocaust in the consciousness of the young generation and adults? What is the influence of literature and art on memory and education about Auschwitz? How to present the issue different types of narration, but common experience? How to spread the message among various groups of recipients? 11:00-11:30 BREAK 11:30-13:30 PARALLEL PRESENTATIONS 4
'Witnesses of History as Memory Depositaries' Moderator: Tomasz Michaldo Anna Szwarc Zając Liana Millu and her definition of "new witnesses" in theory and practice Stefania Zezza The features and the issues of the truth: truth and truths Jamie L. Wright Tell me what happened when the doors opened at Auschwitz. Hungarian Jews, Spatial Memory Historical Contingency Insa Eschebach The memoralization of Ravensbrück Women s Concentration Camp. Personal reflections, rituals and iconographies of the site Kim Parys The Story of Simon remembrance education for the last grade of primary school Piotr Krajewski Szymon Laks and Steve Reich two musical perspectives of the Holocaust. Joanna Mieszczyńska How to prepare and present a story of a witness? 'Auschwitz and the Holocaust in formal and informal education' Moderator: Dr. Piotr Trojański Prof. Tadeusz Miczka Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust as one of Fundamental Strategies for Surviving of National Cultures and Human Civilization in the Age of Glocalization Ulrich Unseld The preeminence of Auschwitz in commemorative culture and its effects on other concentration camp memorial sites Marc van Berkel Auschwitz and the Holocaust in German and Dutch textbooks 1960 2010 Dr. Andrea Genest Photographs as witnesses: What does prisoners photographs tell about the camps history? Andrzej Grzegorczyk Archeological artefacts as an element of exhibition at the Memorial Museum Fiorenza Loiacono Traumatic aspects in the educational work about the memory of the Shoah Agata Czajkowska Auschwitz and the Holocaust in non formal and informal education of adults 13:30 14:30 BREAK 5
14:30-16:30 PARALLEL PRESENTATIONS 'Visits at the Memorial Sites as Exceptional Educational Experience' Moderator: Marta Berecka Dr. Tomasz Cebulski Ikoniczność Auschwitz jako narzędzie w zrozumieniu innych ludobójstw Dr. Bożena Karwowska Education through research education through experiencing an authentic place. Witnessing Auschwitz intensive research seminar and the model of educational use of special theory in teaching about Auschwitz and the Holocaust Tom Jackson, Dr. Alasdair Richardson Learning on sight: a tripartite perspective on the 'Lessons from Auschwitz' project Ellen Van Den Broeck Holocaust, Police and Human Rights Dr. Alicja Bartuś Image of Auschwitz among Polish and German youth after visiting a memorial site. An attempt of comparision Dr. Marta Kubiszyn Museum Site of Memory as an Educational Space: The Prisoners of Majdanek Exhibition at the Majdanek State Museum in Lublin Carriers of Memory and New Technologies Moderator: Paweł Sawicki Monika Szabłowska Zaremba Cyber memory as a new form of narrative construction of memory of former German concentration camps Imogen Dalziel Auschwitz on social media: community-building and the shaping of memory Agnieszka Juskowiak Sawicka The role of E-learning in Holocaust education Monika Koszyńska Visiting using witness testimony as a unique educational experience Piotr Małochwiej Testimony of the Auschwitz-Birkenau prisoners as evidence in the trials of war criminals 17:00 18:30 BREAK 6
17:00-18:30 SUMMARY PANEL DISCUSSION I knew that history must be told. Not to transmit an experience is to betray it. Elie Wiesel Participant: Prof. Michael Berenbaum, Andrzej Kacorzyk, Dr. Noa Mkayton, Dr. Christa Schikorra Moderator: Anna Miszewska What kind of innovative educational solution should be adopted in the context of the changing reality? Education at memorial sites and school education does the memory of Shoah shape a responsible society? 19:00-20:00 DINNER 7
3 JULY 2017 OPTIONAL PROGRAM 15:00-18:00 Group I Following traces of Victims and Witnesses visiting chosen historical spaces of Auschwitz, including Blocks 2nd and 3rd. 15:00 17:00 Group II Preserve for the future conservation and educational challenges. A visit to the Museum s Preservation Department. 6 JULY 2017 OPTIONAL PROGRAM 8:30 Bus departure from the hotel to Cracow. 10:00-12:00 Visit at the exhibition "Face to face. Art in Auschwitz" at the National Museum of Cracow. The International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum www.auschwitz.org 8