Holocaust

The Holocaust in Poland and Ukraine Scholarly Seminar for Ukrainian Students

In mid April 2008 Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies together with the Polish colleagues from Majdanek and Belzec Memorial Museums held a joint scholarly seminar for students of history and humanities from different Ukrainian universities. The seminar covered various aspects of Jewish life and history in Galitsia (Western Ukraine and Eastern Poland) in the interwar period and during the Nazi occupation of these territories. This was the second such undertaking of the Centre and our Polish partners (first seminar held in March 2007 included history teachers and university students) and we will be doing our best to make this seminar a tradition for educators and future scholars of Ukraine.
The high preliminary preparation of the group catered for a successful seminar. The students were recommended for participation by the university lecturers involved in our projects since 2002. It is very important for us, as it represents the link between different branches of our activities.
During the five-day seminar-on-wheels the participants visited Ukrainian and Polish Jewish history sites and Holocaust memorials in Lviv, Lublin, Wlodawa, Majdanek, Sobibor, Belzec, Trawniki. During the tours the students had a unique chance to see and talk to the Nazi death camps survivors. Along with such tours and meetings, everyday the participants enjoyed lectures, discussions, round-tables on the Holocaust, Ukrainian-Polish-Jewish relations, and reflection on these issues in Poland and Ukraine nowadays.