Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/uncovering-new-narratives-of-the-holocaust-in-european-canadian-archives-tickets-51783866940
Introductory remarks by :
- Tiffany Fukuma-Schafran, cultural attachée at the French Embassy in Canada and President of the Toronto EUNIC cluster
- Paul Perron President of CEFMF and Munk School of Global Affairs representative
Toronto, October 25th 2018- On the occasion of the European year of Cultural Heritage, the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Toronto cluster (formed by the Goethe-Institut, the Alliance Française, the Austrian Forum, and the Istituto Italiano) and the Centre for the Study of France and the Francophone World (CEFMF) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy are working in partnership with the Neuberger Centre to offer an event casting light on lesser-known narratives of the Holocaust gathered through original and innovative archival work.
The topic of the conference is :
“Uncovering new narratives of the Holocaust in European and Canadian Archives”
“In a world where the roots of what led to it have not disappeared, it is crucial to keep deepening our understanding of the Holocaust. It is the most documented case of genocide in History. However, much still remains unknown. New technologies and new methods drastically modified the archival work in the past decades. The Toronto EUNIC cluster is thrilled to welcome to Toronto three leading Shoah Archive specialists from European institutions who will present to Toronto audiences what they do to help keep alive the memory of those who perished or were persecuted and thus contribute to preventing it from happening ever again”, explains Tiffany Fukuma-Schafran, president of the Toronto EUNIC cluster and cultural attaché and representative for the Embassy of France to Canada.
The conference will be held from 1 to 4pm on Wednesday, November 7th at the Munk School of Global Affairs, Campbell Conference Room, 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3K7.
- Following introductory remarks by Tiffany Fukuma-Schafran, Paul Perron, Director of the Centre for the Study of France and the Francophone World at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Donna Bernardo-Ceriz, Managing Director of the Ontario Jewish Archives. The conference will proceed with 3 30-minute presentations by 3 different speakers on 3 topics, amongst which:
- “Empathetic Encounters. The Archival Workshop Program of the Jewish Museum Berlin” by Aubrey Pomerance (1-2pm). Respondent : Gail Lord
- 2 p.m. Panel Title TBD by Heidemarie Uhl (2 to 3 pm). Respondent : Krista Hegburg
- 3 p.m. “Untold Stories of the Survivors – Paths beyond Files” by Aurore Blaise (3 to 4pm). Respondent : Leonid Livak
A Jewish Studies and History graduate from the Freie Universität Berlin, Aubrey Pomerance has been director of archives at the Jewish Museum Berlin and the branch of the Leo Baeck Institute Archives at the museum since 2001. Aubrey Pomerance is a guest of the Goethe-Institut Toronto.
Heidemarie Uhl is a historian, a member of the Austrian delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and director of the Neugestaltungg des Österreichische Heldendenkmals (Reconceptualisation of the Austrian Hero’s Monument) project in Vienna. Heidemarie Uhl will be skyping from Vienna, with the support of the Austrian Embassy in Ottawa.
Aurore Blaise has been working at the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris since 2013 and her work as an archivist, has relied on the use of digital tools, amongst others. Since 2014, she has been involved in the Survivors Project, which aims at identifying the deportees who came back from the camps and at documenting their path. Aurore Blaise is a guest of the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Canada.
Each presentation will be followed by a 15-minute discussion between the speaker and a respondent and 15 minutes of questions and answers with the audience. Respondents will be Gail Lord, Krista Hegburg and Leonid Livak.
Gail Lord is one of the world’s foremost museum, gallery, and cultural planners. He’s been bestowed the title of Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic.
Krista Hegburg is a senior program officer in the Division of International Academic Programs of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Dr. Hegburg also teaches at the University of Lower Silesia in Wrocław, Poland, and is currently working on a book on reparations politics and the Romani Holocaust in the Czech Republic.
Leonid Livak is a professor at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto. He is currently doing research and writing on the cultural history of the Russian and Russian-Jewish émigré communities in WWII France.
The event will be followed by a complimentary reception with a Kosher buffet offered by the Toronto EUNIC Cluster for those who attended the conference. It will take place at the Alliance Française (24 Spadina, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2S7) from 4:15 p.m. to 6:00 pm. Please RSVP to ensure access to both the conference and the reception. Please note that capacity is limited: only conference attendees who will have registered in advance will be guaranteed access to the reception.
A Holocaust Education Week featured event, the conference was made possible through the valued support from all partners and from the European Union and its EUNIC Cluster Fund.
It is open to all and everyone is welcome to attend by registering online at https://bit.ly/2JgBd74 . For journalists wishing to have more information on the conference or to arrange interviews with speakers, respondents and/or organizers should contact:
Guillaume DUMAS
Press and Public Affairs Officer
Consulate of France to Toronto
(+1) 416-847-1896 (Tel.)
(+1) 647-517-3485 (Cell.)
guillaume.dumas@diplomatie.gouv.fr
