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Educational Forum Traversing Landscapes of Violence: Nazi Germany and the Canadian Prairies

Conference
Classroom in the Fort Alexander Indian Residential School, Manitoba, Canada, circa 1949. Theodore Fontaine, who was incarcerated for 12 years in two Indian residential schools, is pictured in the second row, visible between the two boys in the front row. Courtesy of Theodore Fontaine

Classroom in the Fort Alexander Indian Residential School, Manitoba, Canada, circa 1949. Theodore Fontaine, who was incarcerated for 12 years in two Indian residential schools, is pictured in the second row, visible between the two boys in the front row. Courtesy of Theodore Fontaine

Although different in many ways, the history of racism in Nazi Germany and the Plains region in Canada illuminates universal phenomena that manifested in the persecution of groups considered “others” in society. Using emerging research on the representation of historical persecution, this educational forum seeks to examine the lasting impact of persecution on memory and identity for targeted communities. By bringing together educators and scholars from diverse disciplines, we aim to initiate meaningful dialogue about trauma, identity, violence, cultural genocide, and discrimination against communities in Europe and Canada. Paying special attention to historical persecution of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Japanese-Canadians, LGBTQ populations, and minorities—Jewish people in particular—in Nazi-occupied and allied Europe, participants will grapple with how, when, and why governments and ordinary people supported, complied with, ignored, or resisted targeted oppression and racial violence in different historical contexts. This program aims to enrich campus dialogue while forging connections that will ensure the vitality of Holocaust studies in an increasingly interdisciplinary and multicultural academic landscape.

Please join us for a panel discussion on Wednesday, October 23, at 7 p.m. and a roundtable on Thursday, October 24, at 10 a.m. The panel discussion, Confronting the Legacies of Colonial Violence: From Destruction to Denial, Retribution, and Compensation, will be held in Eckhardt Gramatte Hall, Third Floor Centennial Hall. The roundtable, Teaching Challenging Topics: Intersecting Axes of Gender-Based Violence, will be held in Convocation Hall.

View the full program schedule HERE.

This educational forum is co-organized by the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 

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