Konsulat Republiki Austrii w Katowicach

 

PROGRAMME

 

Friday, 21 October 2016:
 

9:00-11:00 Opening
Introduction by Dr hab. Sławomir Kapralski, Professor of the Pedagogical University

Inauguration:

• Dr hab. Stanisław Sorys, Vice-Marshal of the Małopolska Voivodship
• H.M. Prof Dr hab. Kazimierz Karolczak, Rector of the Pedagogical University
• H.E. Dr Thomas M. Buchsbaum, Ambassador of Austria to Poland

Keynote speeches
Dr Adam Bodnar, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland
Mr Romani Rose, President of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma

11:15-12:45 Debate: The Future of Roma Politics
Chair: Prof Elena Marushiakova (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia/University of St Andrews)

• Mirjam-Angela Karoly, Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues OSCE ODIHR, Warsaw
• Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, Alliance for European Roma Institute, Berlin
• Konstanty Gebert, Journalist, Warsaw

12:45-13:45 Lunch (for registered participants)

13:45-15:15 Panel 1: The Holocaust and Roma Resistance
Chair: Prof Thomas Acton (University of Greenwich/Buckinghamshire New University)

• Dr Gerhard Baumgartner (Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance, Vienna), The Austrian Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust: between tragedy and resistance.
• Martin Holler (Humboldt University of Berlin), Deadly Odyssey: The Deportation of East Prussian Sinti to Białystok, Brest-Litovsk, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• Prof Andrej Kotljarchuk (Stockholm University/Södörtorn University), The resistance and survival of Roma during the Second World War in Soviet films and teleplays.

15:30-17:00 Panel 2: In the Shadow of Genocide – the Post-Holocaust Situation of Roma Communities
Chair: Dr Gerhard Baumgartner (Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance, Vienna)

• Prof Elena Marushiakova and Prof Vesselin Popov (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia/University of St Andrews), Rethinking Roma Holocaust: victims or/and victors.
• Oliver von Mengersen (Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma, Heidelberg), The impact of the Holocaust on the Sinti communities in post-war Germany.
• Dr Danijel Vojak (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Zagreb), Roma Holocaust in Croatia: from marginalization to formal recognition and commemoration.

 

Saturday, 22 October 2016

10:00-11:15 Keynote speech by Prof Thomas Acton (University of Greenwich/ Buckinghamshire New University), The deconstruction of forgetfulness: the historian's contribution to breaking the cycles of history.

11:30-13:40 Panel 3: Roma Political Mobilisation – Memory and Identity
Chair: Prof Kimmo Granqvist (Södörtorn University)

• Dr Joanna Talewicz-Kwiatkowska (International Center for Education on Auschwitz and the Holocaust, Oświęcim), The memory of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust and the contemporary activities of the European Roma and Sinti leaders.
• Irina Spataru (Romano Centro, Vienna), The impact of antigypsyism on the Roma identity and self-esteem.
• Karolina Mirga-Danek (“ternYpe” International Roma Youth Network), Memory and empowerment: on the activities of the “ternYpe” International Roma Youth Network.
• Dr Małgorzata Kołaczek (Jagiellonian University, Cracow), Romani movement in the EU: with the Roma or for the Roma?
• Dr Marton Rövid (Central European University, Budapest), Bordering, mobility, citizenship: preliminary notes on the impact of the “refugee crisis.”

 

ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE
'Beyond the Roma Holocaust: From Resistance to Mobilisation'

Seventy-five years ago, in late autumn, 5,000 Austrian Roma were deported to the Łódź Ghetto and those surviving later to the death camp Kulmhof/Chełmno nad Nerem where they were murdered. On the anniversary of this crime, the Austrian Embassy in Poland together with the Pedagogical University of Cracow organise a conference “Beyond the Roma Holocaust: From Resistance to Mobilisation.” The conference will be held on 21-22 October, 2016 at the Pedagogical University of Cracow under the auspices of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland, Dr Adam Bodnar.
The invited scholars, activists and politicians will commemorate the victims and reflect upon the nature and origins of the Roma genocide in the context of the contemporary situation of Roma communities in Europe. The intention of the organisers is to discuss the fate of Roma during the Second World War in terms of their resistance and strategies of survival and thus to go beyond the paradigm of victimisation, in which their history is usually presented.

Organisational details:

Conference language: English
Venue: Audytorium im. Prof. Wincentego Danka (main entrance, 1st floor), Pedagogical University of Cracow, ul. Podchorążych 2, Cracow.
Conference registration (no charges) until 17th October 2016 by e-mail at aleksandra.radziwon@bmeia.gv.at, ph. (+48) 22 841 00 81 ext. 26
Accommodation at a special rate of 160 PLN per night (incl. breakfast) is available at the Ibis Krakow Bronowice Hotel (Armii Krajowej 11A). The offer applies until 17th October to direct bookings at h6605@accor.com upon providing the conference code “5139”.

 

PARTNERS: