The Wannsee Conference Now & Then

Please join the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota and The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at Western Washington University on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 1:30 PM CST for a presentation by Dr. Matthias Haß, Director of Education, House of the Wannsee-Conference Memorial Site and Conference Center, Berlin, Germany.

"The meeting of 15 high-ranking Nazi officials on January 20, 1942 at Lake Wannsee is one of the most important events in the history of the persecution and murder of European Jewry. Under the leadership of Reinhard Heydrich, the men discussed the implementation of the deportation and ultimately the murder of 11 million Jews. In the spring of 1942, the deportations to the death camps in occupied Eastern Europe began.

"Seventy-nine years later, Germany and Europe are facing a new wave of right-wing extremism and antisemitism. Synagogues are attacked and Jews are injured and murdered. The Covid-19-pandemic fuels conspiracy narratives which are often rooted in antisemitism. Has history taught us so little?

"The lecture will give an overview of the meeting at Lake Wannsee on January 20, 1942 in its larger historical context and discuss its relevance in the wake of rising antisemitism in Germany and Europe today."

Pre-registration for this Zoom event is required, and more information is available on their website.

The event is organized by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota and The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at Western Washington University.