Lemkin. Witness to the genocide century Exhibition opening

The „bravest library in the world“ is united by the personal experiences of two of the most important lawyers of the 20th century. Raphael Lemkin and Fritz Bauer survived the Holocaust, they fled into exile, Lemkin to the USA, Bauer to Scandinavia. Throughout their lives, they used their experiences to fight against racism, anti-Semitism and impunity for crimes against humanity. They were champions of international law.

Greeting

Dr Kai Rawe (City Archive – Centre for City History, Bochum)

Dr Irmtrud Wojak (Fritz Bauer Forum, Bochum)

Hanna Radziejowska (Pilecki Institute, Berlin)

Tomasz Stefanek (curator of the exhibition, Pilecki Institute, Warsaw)

Followed by a tour of the exhibition.

The 3-G rules apply, so participation in the opening is only possible for those who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested. Maximum 40 participants.

The exhibition will be on display from 9 October 2021 to 31 January 2022.

Lemkin. Witness to the genocide century

The Pilecki Institute’s exhibition on Raphael Lemkin, which was previously on display in Warsaw, is being shown in German for the first time in Bochum.

Winston Churchill declared during the Second World War at the end of 1941 that the Nazis were committing a „nameless crime“. Raphael Lemkin dedicated himself to finding an appropriate term for these acts of barbarism. Thanks to his studies in philosophy, philology and law, he succeeded in coining the term „genocide“ in 1943.

Through his personal commitment, Lemkin contributed to the creation of the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948. The exhibition tells the story of a man of moral imagination and civic conviction who made the realisation of his idea his life’s purpose.

Fritz Bauer Library. The bravest library in the world

Fritz Bauer’s commitment to democracy and human rights now has a place. At the centre of the exhibition is the Fritz Bauer Library in a fascinating location in the former Havkenscheid mourning hall in Bochum.

The library takes a radically new approach. It has a personal significance for the lives of its visitors and is not just a data repository, but an interactive place of learning. The „Never again!“ of the survivors of human rights violations and genocide comes to life here. As a lasting challenge to „Forever!“ against violence, war and injustice in our history, human rights-orientated action is explored and practised.

The exhibition also shows interested visitors how they themselves can contribute and strengthen human rights.

Opening hours

Monday closed | Tuesday-Friday 10.00-18.00 | Saturday and Sunday 11.00-17.00

Guided tours and press enquiries

Philipp Nell
Fritz Bauer Forum
Project management
philipp.nell@buxus-stiftung.de

Enquiries about the Fritz Bauer Library

Jennifer Haas. MA
Fritz Bauer Library and Archive
Project management
jennifer.haas@buxus-stiftung.de

Organiser

The Pilecki Institute (Warsaw/Berlin) started its activities in Berlin in 2019 in order to strengthen international cooperation and provide a new scope for researching and processing the experiences of the 20th century, including the importance of European values of democracy and freedom in recent history. The Institute also aims to contribute to deepening knowledge of the history of Poland in the 20th century.

The Fritz Bauer Forum in Bochum is planned as an international place for research, education and dialogue on the subject of human rights and democracy. It is dedicated to the life’s work of its namesake, the social democrat, resistance fighter and survivor Fritz Bauer, who brought Auschwitz, Nazi justice, Nazi medicine and the crimes of the Wehrmacht to justice.

In this cooperation project, both institutions are united by their commitment to long-term collaboration with cultural institutions and universities in the partner country.