Round Table: Holocaust Distortion

The Holocaust serves as the political, cultural and moral anchor for addressing forms of exclusionary nationalism, antisemitism, racism, and genocide after 1945. Yet, the meaning of the Holocaust in the collective memory of many nation states is changing and has become subject to contestation or distortion.

Distortion of the Holocaust means rhetoric, written work or other media that excuse, minimise or misrepresent the known historical record. However, any distortion, whether intentional or not, feeds into antisemitic narratives and can lead to more violent forms of antisemitism. In this sense, as Historian and International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Honorary Chairman, Yehuda Bauer notes, “a half truth is worse than a full lie.”

This round table, organised by the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, the Jewish Museum Vienna and the Jean Monnet Network “European Memory Politics” at the University of Victoria, Canada, will address the contested memory of the Holocaust, Holocaust distortion and its meaning in contemporary debates in various national contexts. Experts will focus on Austria, Hungary, the post-Yugoslav space and Poland.

Programme

Welcome:

• Barbara Staudinger, Director of the Jewish Museum Vienna.
  Moritz Wein, Austrian Federal Ministery for Education, Science and Research.

Experts on the Panel:

• Jochen Böhler on the case of Poland, Historian, Director of the VWI.
• Helga Embacher on the case of Austria, Historian, Professor at the University of Salzburg.
• Éva Kovács on the case of Hungary, Sociologist, Deputy Director for Academic Affairs at the VWI.
• Ljiljana Radonić on the case of the post-Yugoslav space, Political Scientist, Vice-Director of the Institute of Culture Studies and Theatre History at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Chair:

• Matt James, Political Scientist, Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada.

By participating in this event, you consent to the publication of photos, video and audio recordings that are made during the event.