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Authenticity - experience - memory. A research seminar by students of the University of British Columbia.
20 Canadian students participated in a 12 days research seminar “Witnessing Auschwitz – Conflicting Stories and Memories”, which was organized by the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in conjunction with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
The seminar, which was held at the Memorial Site for the second time, consisted of 11 subject areas. As part of the seminar, the students learned about various aspects of the history of the German Nazi Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp and the Holocaust and participated in workshops and study trips. They had, among others, the possibility of entering the reserve blocks located on the site of the former KL Auschwitz I camp and a trip to Monowice, where the KL Auschwitz III-Monowitz was located during the war. An important element of the program was the opportunity to learn about the history and topography of the city of Oswiecim. The students visited, among others, Auschwitz Synagogue Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot and the Jewish cemetery.
While in Poland, the students prepare individual research projects on topics related to World War II and the Holocaust. In connection with this important aspect of the seminar, it was possible to conduct independent research at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The students used the Archive and Museum Library and took part in individual consultations with the scientific staff.
‘The seminar jointly prepared with the University of Vancouver, which took place from 11-22 of May, is important for us not only because we have the opportunity to transfer knowledge to 20 young people but mainly because through their research projects, which they will share with their peers upon returning to Canada, will be able to reach a wider audience,’ said Adelina Hetnar-Michaldo, ICEAH coordinator of the seminar .
‘The seminar was held for the second time,’ noted co-author of the project, Prof. Bożena Karwowska from the University of British Columbia. ‘Last year's seminar graduates are actively involved in education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust in British Columbia (Canada), and various parts of the world. They are changing current ways of learning and continuously expanding the circle of persons interested in the subject of the Holocaust. This year’s group benefited from their experience, and their opinions were also used by Museum staff when planning lessons and lectures. The seminar program was expanded to include the aspect of the responsibility that lies on Witnesses - i.e. the few people who survived the Holocaust and the young people who will continue to transfer their testimonies. The students were highly impressed with the meeting with Bogdan Bartnikowski, a former prisoner and author of the memoir read by students in Vancouver. His appeal to oppose the expression “Polish death camps” will certainly not go unnoticed,’ she stressed.
One of the participants of the seminar, Rebbeca Corn indicated that participation in the program gave meaning to everything she had learned so far about the Holocaust. ‘Each text, documentary film and memory have suddenly become much more meaningful and real. Studying the Holocaust in an authentic historic site has aroused in me an even greater feeling of its reality and impact to consolidate better the memories of the victims and knowledge gained during the seminar,’ she said.
According to another participant, Kathrin Ney, Auschwitz is much more than just a place of commemoration: ‘It is primarily a place that brings with it history and teaches you how to understand it, and that crimes committed on such a scale were and are still in the sphere of human capabilities. Each visitor arrives at the Memorial Site with some motivation, but each of us leaves this place with a sense of responsibility to keep the memory of the victims, and to share the knowledge acquired with others in the hope that this history will never occur again.’
‘The two weeks stay in Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the opportunity to meet with the staff has changed my perception of reality. The privilege was not only an opportunity to learn about the Holocaust from historians and educators of the Museum but also the observation of their efforts to commemorate the fates of people who suffered and died in the years 1940-1945,’ said Helena Bryn-McLeod.
The seminar is part of a monthly research project within which Canadian students also visit Cracow, Warsaw and Białystok where they learn the culture and history of Polish Jews in the interwar period and World War II.
