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The Institute of National Remembrance Branch in Łódź invites attendees to a nationwide scientific conference titled “Not Only Nuremberg… German Crimes on Polish Soil 1939-1945 and Their Post-War Accountability.”
Remembering Dark Chapters in History
The conference will bring together scholars from across Poland to revisit the heinous crimes committed by the German occupiers during the entire period of the occupation and the challenging process of post-war accountability. The discussions will encompass atrocities that occurred in various confinement facilities, including concentration camps, prisons, and forced labor camps.
Unearthing Lesser-Known Events and Pursuits of Justice
Scholars will also shed light on lesser-known events that have not received exhaustive examination so far, focusing not only on the crimes themselves but also on the attempts to bring the perpetrators to justice, if such efforts were made at all. The conference aims to highlight the inconsistencies and randomness in the process of addressing these crimes. Consequently, insights will be shared not only by historians but also by researchers from various fields, including legal experts.
Diverse Participation and Multi-Faceted Insights
The conference will witness the participation of researchers from the Institute of National Remembrance as well as scholars from various academic institutions across the country. It will also involve contributions from museums dedicated to the martyrdom of Poles during World War II and foreign institutions.
The organizers have also arranged accompanying events. On November 14th at 12:00 PM, there will be an opening of the exhibition titled “Unjudged Crimes: Holding German Perpetrators Accountable from the Period of World War II.” The exhibition, prepared by the Delegation of the Institute of National Remembrance in Kielce, will be presented at the Jan Paweł II Cathedral Square in Łódź.
On the first day of the conference, following the scientific sessions, there will be a meeting with Prof. Dr. Hab. Witold Kulesza, discussing the investigation and trial of Arthur Greiser, the Reich Governor of the Wartheland, titled “Adjudicated Crimes.”
On the second day, after the academic presentations, there will be a screening of the documentary film “Rassenaktion” (1985) and a panel discussion featuring Artur Ossowski and Patrycja Resel, employees of the IPN Branch in Łódź, discussing “German Crimes against Polish Children: The History of Two Łódź Camps.” The panel will focus on the activities of two exceptional Łódź institutions: the “racial” camp on Sporna Street and the children’s camp on Przemysłowa Street.