60 years on: the survivors of Nazi persecution

Beyond Camps and Forced Labour, a major international academic conference on survivors of Nazi persecution, took place in the Imperial War Museum from 11-13 January. Jointly organised by Inge Weber-Newth from the department of humanities, arts and languages and Dieter Steinert from Wolverhampton University (both pictured, right), the event was the follow-up to a 2003 conference, also at the Imperial War Museum.

The keynote speech was delivered by Laurence Rees, author of several books and creative director of many major historical TV series, including Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution. Rees talked about the challenges he faced in bringing Auschwitz to the screen, and the practical considerations involved in making this six-hour film for a mass audience.

The conference aimed to bring together international scholars and take stock of current research in the field. 28 panels, many chaired by London Met academics, ran in parallel sessions, providing over 100 academics with a platform to present their research. Amongst the audience were representatives from the Foreign Office and several embassies as well as observers from various national and international institutions.

The thematic focus of the conference was on life after persecution and forced labour, ranging from experiences of liberation, displacement and up-rootedness, the reception and resettlement process of survivors in different countries, to questions of memory and identity. Specific issues related to gender and child survivors, intergenerational transmission, psychological problems such as trauma, and artistic representations of survival. Persecuted groups covered by the conference included Jews, Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals and Jehovah's Witnesses. Positive comments were made on both the wide range of experience of the authors and also on the topics presented.

Inge Weber-Newth commented: "A unique feature was the interdisciplinary character of this conference and the fact that scholars from widely different nationalities as the USA, Israel, Britain, Germany, Austria and a number of East European countries presented their research, exchanged views and were able to make comparisons. This opportunity was very welcome and seen as stimulating for research in the field covered".

An evening reception was hosted by the German embassy in Belgravia. The ambassador, who had previously served in Tel Aviv, spoke both of Germany's dark past and the country's present liberal outlook. Songs of liberation and survival by Ruti Halvani, an Israeli mezzo-soprano, were the highlight of the evening which was also attended by survivors of Nazi persecution now settled in Britain.

The conference was academically supported by an international advisory board of renowned scholars and financially supported by the Koerber Foundation (Hamburg), the British Academy, the German and Austrian embassies, the German Historical Institute, Degussa (a German company) and Renovabis (a Catholic foundation). Feedback from participants and sponsors was very positive and Professor David Cesarani in his closing speech remarked: "Three years ago you tapped into an emerging subject and now it is taking a definite shape. It will be fascinating to see the landscape at the next conference in three years, after the opening of the state archives."

For more information on the conference, visit: www.iwm.org.uk/conferenceBCFL. For more information on the reception at the German embassy, visit: http://www.german-embassy.org.uk/beyond_camps_and_forced_labour.html

22 February 2006

Communications and PR Office