Ukranian Scholar's keynote as part of International Symposium (March 4-6, 2015)

The international symposium coordinated by the IAS collaborative, Reframing Mass Violence, examined the dynamics of public remembrance in post-communist Europe. The keynote address was by John-Paul Himka, Professor of History and Classics, University of Alberta. In case you missed it, or would like to review, video is available here.

Bringing the Dark Past to Light: The Reception of the Holocaust in Post-Communist Europe
Despite the Holocaust's profound impact on the history of Eastern Europe, the communist regimes successfully repressed public discourse about and memory of this tragedy. Since the collapse of communism in 1989, however, this has changed. Professor Himka discusses recent political, social, and cultural developments that have facilitated a more nuanced and complex understanding of the continuities and discontinuities in representations of the Holocaust and the role that memory plays in contemporary discussions of national identity in Eastern Europe.



John - Paul Himka is professor of East European History at the University of Alberta. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan in 1977. He specializes in the history of the Ukraine, Eastern Europe, World War II and Holocaust memory. He is the author of several articles and books his most recent Bringing the Dark Past to Light: The Reception of the Holocaust in Post Communist Europe was published in 2013 and featured book of the Month in the CHGS Newsletter May/June 2014.
Sponsored by the Human Rights Program and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Cosponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study, the Institute for Global Studies, Center for Austrian Studies, Department of Political Science, Department of History, Center for Jewish Studies, European Studies Consortium and the Ohanessian Endowment Fund for Justice and Peace Studies of the Minneapolis Foundation.