From 11 to 16 August, an international seminar was held in Auschwitz (Poland) to discuss the crimes against humanity that took place during the Second World War and to talk about the ongoing wars and the killing of human beings in the world today.
From 11-16 August, an international seminar was held in Auschwitz (Poland) to discuss the crimes against humanity that took place during the Second World War and to talk about the ongoing wars and the killing of human beings in the world nowadays.
The international seminar for European countries takes place every year in the second week of August. The date of the event is linked to the date of the assassination of Father Maximilian Kolbe on 14 August. Father Maximilian Kolbe was imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp and volunteered to die – to give his own life instead of another prisoner who was doomed to die. The international seminar, therefore, focused on the themes of responsibility, resistance to evil, and sacrifice for the sake of another person. Participants from different countries learnt not only about the history of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the Nazi policy used to break, dehumanise and destroy people but also about the town of Auschwitz, founded in the Middle Ages, where the local Jewish community played an active social, political and economic role until World War II.
At the international seminar, 34 participants from 14 countries worldwide actively debated human rights violations, discussed past conflicts, and recalled present-day issues and ongoing wars. Accompanied by Father Manfred Deselaers, they also saw the drawings of Marian Kolodziej, a former concentration camp inmate, that may be the best evidence of what people who were imprisoned in Auschwitz went through. The participants had a unique opportunity to hear the stories of two former concentration camp inmates, Zdzislaw Wlodarczyk and Grzegorz Tomaszewski, who were imprisoned when they were children.
At the international event, representatives of several countries gave presentations on how the Second World War is remembered and the narrative of the war presented in their societies. This seminar highlighted presentations on Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland and Bulgaria. Ingrida Vilkienė (Coordinator of the International Commission’s Educational Programmes) gave a presentation on the research carried out by the historians of the International Commission on the Holocaust. Paulius Aleksandravičius, an educator from the Kaunas IX Fort Museum, gave a presentation on the educational activities for students and the general public. Uliana Krekhovets, a participant from Ukraine, gave a presentation not on the Ukrainian attitude towards the Second World War but on the current war in Ukraine. She presented sketches she had drawn after certain attacks by Russian soldiers and the loss of loved ones. The participants were very touched by the Ukrainian woman’s story and her drawings, which can serve as proof of crimes against humanity.
The international seminar, organized by the Maximilian Kolbe Foundation, was held for the 15th time. According to one of the organizers, Dr. Jorg Luer, “This international seminar will not give answers to questions, and I think, I am even sure, that after this seminar, there will be many more questions than answers.
The Maximilian Kolbe Foundation cooperates with the Secretariat of the International Commission, and since 2012, two Lithuanian participants have participated in this international event every year.
