Auschwitz Poland

Auschwitz, Poland. Credit: Jean Carlo Emer/Unsplash

UBC marks 75th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz

Media Advisories

Monday is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

UBC will mark the anniversary with a four-day Auschwitz 75 symposium featuring lectures, panel discussions, a library exhibit, and UBC Opera’s production of the Holocaust-themed opera Pasazerka (The Passenger), by Mieczyslaw Weinberg.

Auschwitz 75 is organized by graduates of Witnessing Auschwitz, a UBC course that gives students an opportunity each summer to conduct research at the site of the camp in Poland.

UBC experts and students participating in Auschwitz 75 are available to comment on various topics related to Auschwitz and the Holocaust.

Auschwitz and the Holocaust

Bozena Karwowska
Associate Professor, Department of Central, Eastern & Northern European Studies
Tel: 604-822-5956
Email: bozena.karwowska@ubc.ca

  • Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Holocaust, Witnessing Auschwitz lead, teaching through research

Anja Nowak
Lecturer, Department of Central, Eastern & Northern European Studies
Cell: 0049 170 8390613
Email: anja.nowak@ubc.ca

  • Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Holocaust, liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto

* available from Jan. 26

Ania Switzer
Lecturer, Department of Central, Eastern & Northern European Studies
Cell: 778-838-8546
Email: ania.switzer@ubc.ca

  • collective memory of the Holocaust, especially in Poland, Jewish/non-Jewish relations in 20th-century Poland, representations of the Holocaust in Polish culture, Holocaust in the politics of present-day Poland

* unavailable Thursday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

Opera

Nancy Hermiston
Professor, School of Music
Director, Pasazerka (The Passenger) by UBC Opera
Cell: 604-488-9835
Email: nancy.hermiston@ubc.ca

  • opera, Pasazerka (The Passenger)

 

Students

John Denault
Witnessing Auschwitz graduate from 2014
Cell: 604-818-1442
Email: j_denault@hotmail.com

Jessica Passey
Witnessing Auschwitz graduate from 2015
Cell: 604-323-6091
Email: jessica.passey419@gmail.com

* unavailable Thursday evening

Meredith Shaw
Witnessing Auschwitz graduate from 2015; research assistant in 2016
Cell: 778-384-5834
Email: meredithshaw@shaw.ca

* available 3-5:30 p.m. Thursday, after 11 a.m. Friday

 

AUSCHWITZ 75 PUBLIC EVENTS

 

Symposium

Dates: Monday, Jan. 27-Thursday, Jan. 30, all day

Full program: https://auschwitz75.arts.ubc.ca/

 

Opera

Dates: Thursday, Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 2, 2 p.m.

Venue: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Rd., UBC. (Map)

Tickets: ubcoperatickets.com or in person at the UBC Opera box office

More info: https://music.ubc.ca/opera-pasazerka-the-passenger

 

Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Exhibit

Dates: Jan. 27-30 at Hillel House; Jan. 30-Feb. 2 at Chan Centre for the Performing Arts

Venues: Hillel House, 6145 Student Union Blvd, UBC. (Map); Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Rd., UBC. (Map)

Admission: free

More info: Auschwitz 75 website

 

UBC Library Exhibit

Dates: to Feb. 28

Venue: Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. (Map)

Admission: free

More info: Auschwitz 75 website

Contact

Wan Yee Lok
UBC Media Relations
Tel: 604-822-4549
Email: wanyee.lok@ubc.ca