News
The Less I Understand, the More I Have to Ask
A group of students from The University of British Columbia in Vancouver recently visited the Auschwitz Memorial for a two-week seminar entitled "Witnessing Auschwitz - Conflicting Stories and Memories". The event was co-organised by the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
The seminar involves a new model of education about the Holocaust, developed by The University of British Columbia. This model is based on joint training of the best students of many academic fields, who share their acquired knowledge with both colleagues and the general public. The initiator on behalf of the Canadian university is Professor Bożena Karwowska from the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies.
The programme of the seminar, which took place between May 12th and 25th, included 10 sections covering issues related to the history of Auschwitz. These included, among others, the genesis of Auschwitz as the center of extermination of Jews, the extermination of Roma people, medicine in Auschwitz and the role of the camp in the economy of the Third Reich. “Students also took part in a series of workshops about the camp art, the archives collection and preservation of the authenticity of the Memorial. An important part of the seminar was a meeting with Tadeusz Smreczyński, a former prisoner of Auschwitz,” said Magdalena Urbaniak, the Project Co-ordinator representing the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust.
The director of the ICEAH, Andrzej Kacorzyk, pointed out that such a long and complex seminar is a unique event. “It is rare that students can dedicate two weeks to face this difficult and multidimensional subject of the history of Auschwitz. We could all feel that being in this authentic site is not just another project for the Canadian students, but it is an important personal experience. This is yet another reason for us to be pleased with the decision of the Canadian university to collabore with the Center” said Kacorzyk.
According to Professor Bozena Karwowska, it is already clear that staying at the Memorial strongly influenced the students: “Meetings with Museum staff, who shared their knowledge and experience, was an inspiration for the participants. This was reflected, for example, in the subjects of their research projects. Together we managed to educate a group of young people who will, on the Pacific coast, continue their studies on what they have learned during the seminar. Certainly, thanks to them knowledge of the history of Auschwitz and the Holocaust will be passed on to others.”
“Participation in the seminar demonstrated how an enormous amount of research and work must be done in order to fully understand the role and scope of influence of the camp. For me, as a young historian, working with experts in various fields has been a great privilege,” commented Rilej T. Hass, one of the participants.
According to Natalie Suen, only by staying in an authentic Memorial Site can we understand – and still only to a certain extent - what happened in this place. “I am very grateful to the employees of the Museum, who shared with us their workplace, time but, most of all, their vast knowledge. The remains of the camp constantly remind us that this really happened and can still happen again. That is why our generation must arm itself with knowledge about the past in order to work towards a better future,” she stressed.
“Auschwitz happened in the past. But how can we understand the present and maintain responsibility in the future? It turns out that the more I know, the less I understand. The less I understand the more I have to ask, learn and debate. Learning about the history of the Holocaust I realised that my role is not only to remember and commemorate, but also to live on a daily basis and take my own responsibilities as a citizen of the global world,” said Audrey Tong.
During the seminar, students from Canada also visited the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery in Oswiecim. Students spent their last three days in Kraków learning the history of the city and places associated with the history of the Jews in the city.
