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| You are here: 2000 / Workshops, Panels and Seminars / Workshops on Remembrance and Representation / Workshop 1 on Remembrance, "It Happened There: The Existence and Meaning of Historical Locations" / Presentation by Dr. Jonathan Webber | |||||||||
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Report from Workshop 1 on Remembrance and Representation: "It Happened there: the Existence and Meaning of Historical Locations" Presentation by Mr. David Barnouw Presentation by Dr. Jan Munk Presentation by Dr. Robert Sigel Presentation by Dr. Teresa Swiebocka Presentation by Dr. Jonathan Webber Presentation by Dr. James E. Young Presentation by Dr. Jonathan Webber Webber, Jonathan Presentation by Dr. Jonathan Webber This presentation is constructed around four basic propositions regarding the benefits of authentic Holocaust sites in eastern Europe (particularly Poland) for the purposes of Holocaust education and remembrance. Visits to such sites can help people to Be awakened to the realities of the Holocaust; Develop a greater empathy for the victims; Develop a "hands-on" relationship with the past through an actof remembrance; and Obtain a moral or political message from the text of theinscription on the monument there. These important benefits, however, are only a starting-point and conceal a number of problems. Sites in themselves do not explain the Holocaust or provide visitors with an exposition that can help them truly internalize its lessons, such as the need today to combat racism and intolerance. Moreover, Sites differ substantially from each other in their capacity to awaken visitors to the realities of the Holocaust; Too much happened in the Holocaust for any one site to be ableto tell the whole story; Some sites--notably the huge museum and memorial complex atAuschwitz--offer too much for the ordinary visitor to comprehend it all, especially in a short visit; and Different people, depending on their national and ethnic origins, level of existing knowledge about the Holocaust, and attitudes to religion, will experience each site differently and will therefore interpret quite differently the message of the monument and its inscription. Leaders therefore need to develop new strategies to deal with the vast range of authentic sites which exist across Europe. To expand now on the four propositions: As part of understanding the realities of the Holocaust, Jews need to be awakened to the fact that others also suffered and died at Auschwitz. Jews should therefore stop opposing Catholic memorials there. On the other hand, there should be a Jewish monument at Auschwitz; there is none at present. To emphasise empathy with the victims, the needs of educationwill sometimes have to give way to the needs of remembrance: in Auschwitz this would mean less effort on conservation and more on the presentation of at least part of the site as a cemetery. For the proper maintenance of authentic sites, particularly the hundreds of sites of mass graves in countryside locations in eastern Europe, there should be a European Holocaust Commission, staffed partly with "hands-on" volunteers, where acts of remembrance can be held on appropriate anniversaries. An understanding of the cultural and historical experience of local ethnic minorities, different from the national histories normally taught in schools, should be seen as an essential part of a Holocaust education that aims to provide insights into the conditions surrounding persecution and genocide. As far as historical remembrance of the Holocaust is concerned, memory of the Jews as a minority group (in prewar Poland, for example, Jews were 10% of the total population, 30% in some of the larger cities, even 75% in some localities) should be acknowledged at the local level in eastern Europe through preserving selected Jewish cultural monuments currently in ruins--as a tribute to the destroyed civilization and an educational opportunity of the greatest importance. In short, the notion of authentic Holocaust sites needs to be given careful attention, both locally and internationally, by Jews as well as through state intervention, for maximising their benefits for education and remembrance; and the definition needs to be widened so as to include the conservation, by the state, of some of the cultural ruins of the past. These in any case are probably the most powerfully expressive of the destructive fury of the Holocaust. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches Plenary Sessions: Messages and speeches Workshops, Panels and Seminars
Other Activities |
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| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||