Conference
Denial, distortion and misinformation:
the truth about the Holocaust 80 years after the liberation of KL Auschwitz
JANUARY 29, 2025, 10:00
POLIN MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS
Introduction
We would like to invite you to a unique event, organised at a symbolic time of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, as well as with the beginning of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference will address the problem of distortion and denial of the crimes of the Holocaust and the rise of anti-Semitic sentiments and crimes, with particular attention to ways of counteracting these phenomena. The conference will also provide a forum for presenting the assumptions of the future Polish National Strategy Against Anti-Semitism.
Organizational information
January 29, 2025,
10:00 am
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Mordechaja Anielewicza Street 6,
00-157 Warsaw
Schedule of the event
Welcome
10.00–10.10
Zygmunt Stępiński, Director of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Introductory remarks
- 10.10–10.30
Adam Bodnar, Minister of Justice, Prosecutor General - 10.30–10.40
Wojciech Soczewica, Director General of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation - 10.40–10.50
Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland - 10.50–11.05
Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator for combating antisemitism and supporting Jewish life - 11.05–11.20
Sirpa Rautio, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 11:20 – 11.30
Maria Telalian, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
11.30–11.45
Coffee break
- Ellen Germain, Special Plenipotentiary for Holocaust Issues, USA
- Ruth Cohen-Dar, Director of Department for Combating Antisemitism and Holocaust Remembrance at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel
- Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator for combating antisemitism and supporting Jewish life
- Christian Heldt, Special Representative for relations with Jewish organisations, issues relating to antisemitism and international Sinti and Roma affairs and Holocaust remembrance, Germany
- Jan Łazicki, Plenipotentiary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Contacts with the Jewish Diaspora, Poland
Moderation: Krzysztof Izdebski, Stefan Batory Foundation
- Sirpa Rautio, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
- Andrew Baker, Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Combating Anti-Semitism
- Virginia Gamba de Potgieter, Acting UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
- Eric Pickles, President of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
- Michael Whine, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
Moderation: Agnieszka Haska, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences
14.10–15.00
Lunch break
- Angelika Nußberger, European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
- Meir Linzen, President of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
- Yfat Barak-Cheney, Director of International and Legal Affairs, World Jewish Congress
- Michał Balcerzak, Chairman of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Moderation: Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences
- Paula Sawicka, Open Republic Association against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia
- Sonia Styrkacz, Foundation Towards Dialogue
- Agnieszka Markiewicz, American Jewish Committee, Central Europe Office in Warsaw
- Piotr Kwapisiewicz, Czulent Jewish Association
- Hanna Gospodarczyk, Forum Dialogu
Moderation: Michał Bilewicz, Centre for Research on Prejudice University of Warsaw
Concluding remarks
- 17.00–17.15
Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences
Speakers
Hanna Gospodarczyk
Organiser
Event partners
