Oxford Holocaust Memorial Events Series 2022: It falls to us to tell their stories
Blog post
Oxford Holocaust Memorial Events Series 2022: It falls to us to tell their stories
Throughout January and February, we hosted the Oxford Holocaust Memorial Events Series 2022 as part of the Humanities Cultural Programme. Over 600 people attended the series of seven events, both in person at Magdalen College and online. The events brought together students and staff from Oxford and beyond with humanitarian activists, educators, and members of the public with a personal interest in the topic. Together, we heard from Holocaust survivors, researchers, and campaigners to reflect on the history and contemporary relevance of the Holocaust as the nation came together to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
Each year, on 27th January, we mark Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD). On this day, we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered during the Holocaust, and the millions of people who have been killed in the Nazi persecution of other groups and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. This series of events formed part of a national effort to mark HMD, that saw thousands of events hosted across the country in schools, universities, community groups, government departments, prisons, and many more. Over 200 buildings across the country were illuminated purple on the evening of 27th January, including Magdalen College Tower here in Oxford, to mark the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.
Reflecting on the day, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, who organise HMD in the UK, said:
The strength shown by the survivors of the Holocaust, and of more recent genocides, is as courageous as it is inspiring. Like anyone who hears them bear witness on Holocaust Memorial Day, I am always moved and forever changed by their testimony.
At the series in Oxford, we were honored to hear from three Holocaust survivors, John Dobai, John Hajdu MBE and Dorit Oliver-Wolff BEM. All survivors of the Holocaust in Hungary, their unique stories shed light on the diversity of experiences during the Holocaust and how different people respond to persecution. Reflecting on attending Dorit’s presentation, on student said ‘any testimony is incredible to hear and Dorit’s was no exception’. You can watch Dorit’s talk online here.
We were also fortunate to hear from Robert Rinder MBE in conversation with youth activist and advocate Kirsty Robson. Known to many as TV’s Judge Rinder, Robert Rinder MBE shared his story of the Holocaust in a series of TV programmes including Who Do You Think You Are? and My Family, the Holocaust, and Me. At this event, which you can watch here, Rob reflected on his families’ experience of the Holocaust, his journey to share his and other people’s histories of the Holocaust on television, and their contemporary relevance.
Alongside this, we hosted an in-person panel discussion on Holocaust research, memorial and education, featuring Dr Zoe Waxman (Oxford), Dr Kathrin Bachleitner (Oxford) and Dr Steve Muir (Leeds). Here, we heard an academic perspective on Holocaust education, with speakers providing snippets from their research that linked with the theme for HMD2022, One Day.
Commemorating HMD has become a significant date in the UK’s calendar, with thousands of events taking place each year. Recently, the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation (UKHMF) announced plans for a new Holocaust Memorial and learning center in London. As part of the series, we hosted Martin Winstone, UKHMF project historian, for a Q&A about the memorial plans, its place within the UK, and the broader challenges of Holocaust Memory in the UK. You can watch the event online here.
Our final event featured four of the leading scholars in research on perpetrators of the Holocaust and was led in conjunction with the British Association for Holocaust Studies (BAHS). We welcomed Professors Christopher Browning, Edward Westerman, Wendy Lower, and Stefan Kühl for a rich discussion on the place of perpetrator research in wider Holocaust history, the different ways perpetrators conducted themselves, and how perpetrators are presented in museums. It is rare to have such an esteemed and international panel of researchers together for a discussion like this, making it one of the highlights of the series and bringing the cutting-edge research taking place across the world to a public audience. You can watch the discussion here.
These events brought together high-profile individuals from the Holocaust research, education, and commemoration community across the UK and internationally. Providing direct access to these individuals for members of the University and the public, the series engaged new people with Holocaust research and Holocaust Memorial Day. Indeed, 38% of those who attended the series had never attended an event for HMD before.
By attending, people were able to learn about the Holocaust, its history, and contemporary relevance. 43% of those who attended reported that they learned things from the series that they did not know about the Holocaust before and 65% of attendees said that they now think differently about events today. These statistics attest to the power Holocaust Memorial Day has to educate people not only about the past, but about the present too. The annual antisemitic incidents report published by the Community Security Trust in February 2022 announced that a total of 2,255 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2021, up 34% on the year before and the highest total reported to CST in any calendar year to date. Although 77 years after the end of the Holocaust, its history and memory remain important for a society facing rising antisemitism, contemporary genocide, and international humanitarian crises.
As we reflect on the events series, we also look forward. Holocaust Memorial Day is one day, but the histories that we remember on that day and the messages that it represents are important each and every day. Out of the people who attended this events series, 74% of them said that they would take some form of action as a result, including learning more about the Holocaust and genocide, sharing what they have learned with others, and protecting people at risk of discrimination today. These are the tangible results of Holocaust Memorial Day and of the series we held at Oxford – a commitment to learn, reflect, and carry the memory forward. We know that a day will come when Holocaust survivors are no longer around to tell their stories. On that day, it will fall to us to tell their stories.
To learn more about this series, supported by TORCH as part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, please click here.
