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International Educational Conference on Memory in the 21st Century

"Is Memory Enough in the 21st Century?" was the title of this year’s international educational conference, organized every two years by the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

Over 150 experts: researchers, museum professionals, teachers, representatives of memorial sites, and various organizations dealing with the history and memory of World War II, Auschwitz, the Holocaust, and other genocides, gathered from June 30 to July 2, 2025, to reflect on the state of memory and its role in the face of the challenges posed by the modern world.

“We must, as thinking people, break the spiral of hatred. Because the future of the world is in your hands. So—do not be afraid!” with these words of Auschwitz Survivors, the conference began.

The background for the many panel discussions included current crises, uncertainty, polarization, the rise of radicalism, and other troubling social processes.

The conference took place in a year marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, as well as the 20th anniversary of the founding of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust, established at the request of Survivors.

“We are a Center—a place of meetings, dialogue, reflection, and action. From here, one can see both the former Auschwitz camp and the contemporary world. We believe that this is precisely where questions and ideas should arise about how to confront hatred, whose echo still resonates around us. We are education—because we help people have a personal encounter with the history of Auschwitz and the Shoah. This encounter changes not only the understanding of the past, but also one’s perspective on the present, welcomed participants Andrzej Kacorzyk, Director of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust.

“I believe that memory should raise questions, first of all to myself. And these will usually be very difficult questions, without clear answers. That is then a kind of memory that matures and generates moral anxiety about myself, my place, what I do or do not do, what I care about and what I do not, about my overall engagement and, to some extent, the meaning of my life space. Then such memory can truly change something, suggest something, strengthen, or anchor certain decisions,” emphasized Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum, opening the conference.

The conference began with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Bernd Simon on the future of tolerance in the 21st century. His original concept, based on respect for ideas and values with which we do not agree, became a starting point for discussion about the very meaning of respect and how tolerance functions in a divided society.

A discussion panel on prejudice in historical research, memory, and education sparked a lively debate about the positionality of researchers and educators and the pursuit of objectivity.

The day ended with a session of short papers presenting the latest research on the fates of people persecuted by Nazi Germany—both selected victim groups and entire societies traumatized by the war.

The second day of the conference focused on the topic of collective memory and its functioning in today’s diverse societies. A panel discussion on this topic highlighted the multidirectional nature of collective memory, understood from a sociological perspective as a product of many individual experiences.

Another discussion allowed participants to hear the voices of minorities and reflect on how minority narratives function in the face of dominant stories, resisting marginalization and erasure.

Conference participants then had the opportunity to meet in small groups to share examples of good practices in the field of memory, reconciliation, peace education, anti-discrimination, and inclusion. Representatives of Homo Faber from Poland, Aegis Trust from Rwanda, Pink Triangle Legacies from the USA, the Anne Frank House from the Netherlands, Terraforming from Serbia, and the Auschwitz Museum presented their projects.

“A great value of this discussion was the chance to talk about projects carried out in different parts of the world, in various contexts, showing that teaching about the difficult issues of our history can be approached in many ways, thus providing inspiration for further educational work,” summarized Dr. Agnieszka Kita, moderator of the session and a deputy head of the Auschwitz Museum’s Archive.

On the third day, the discussion turned toward the future. The first panel concerned the difficult memory of crimes and its role in times of crisis.

“We reflect on many challenges and problems that make up this crisis situation. We should also think about the fact that we, as educators, people working in the field of memory, are part of this problem,” concluded Dr. Matthias Heyl, Head of Education at the Ravensbrück Memorial.

During the next session, attention focused on the processes of sharing memory and shaping narratives about the past from an institutional perspective. The panelists unanimously emphasized the need to pay more attention to the audience’s perspective, which defines the way both the place and the stories told are understood.

The final discussion tried to answer the question about the future of memory from a global perspective.

“It is true that memories of crimes, wars, differences occupy our minds because they are divisive, and things that divide tend to attract our attention. But I want to propose another approach to this thinking. I believe that stories of cooperation — stories of peace — are much stronger than stories of war and cruelty. We cooperate all the time. All our history is a history of cooperation. […] And that is why we have complex societies. And that is why we are capable of terrible things like what happened at Auschwitz. But that is also why we can build, reconcile, and organize a conference like this one, which in a constructive way reflects on the atrocities of the past,” — emphasized Nadav Neuman from Sapienship.

“We did not manage to answer the question posed in the title of the conference. But that was not the goal. Far more important was to look for answers together,” summarized Nataliia Tkachenko, one of the conference coordinators at the ICEAH.

“We hope you will take away the feeling that in the face of this crisis you are not alone, that there are more of us — people who share the same values of diversity, tolerance, respect, democracy, and peace,” added the other conference coordinator, Marine Dudziak-Vannier.

During the conference, the “If Not for Those Ten…” awards were also presented, recognizing volunteers and representatives of institutions supporting volunteerism at the Memorial.