Raphael Lemkin – His autobiography and the debates about genocide today

RAPHAEL LEMKIN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE DISCUSSION ABOUT GENOCIDE TODAY

Discussion event on the occasion of the publication of Raphael Lemkin’s autobiography in German

Discuss

Prof Dr Dietmar Köster
EU Parliament, Human Rights Committee

PD Dr Kristin Platt
Institute for Diaspora and Genocide Research, Ruhr University Bochum

Prof Dr Fabian Klose
Research Council of the German United Nations Association, University of Cologne

Mateusz Falkowski
Deputy Director of the Pilecki Institute, Berlin

Discussion leader

Katharina Schuler (MA)

The event will be broadcast live via Zoom. A limited number of people can attend in person at the venue.

Winston Churchill declared during the Second World War at the end of 1941 that the Nazis were committing a „nameless crime“. The lawyer and humanist Raphael Lemkin dedicated himself to finding an appropriate term for these acts of human barbarism. Thanks to his studies in philosophy, philology and law, Lemkin succeeded in coining the neologism genocide in 1943. Through his personal commitment, he ensured the realisation of the United Nations Genocide Convention in 1948.

Without a mission. Raphael Lemkin’s autobiography tells the story of this extraordinary personality in the history of the 20th century. About a man of moral imagination and civic conviction who proved to us that the search for justice and the protection of human rights are not mere goals, but can become reality.

Raphael Lemkin’s unusual life story reflects the history of Europe under the tremors of the 20th century and demonstrates the pursuit of a spirit of universal humanity. True to Tolstoy’s maxim that „to believe in an idea is to live it“, Lemkin made the realisation of his idea his life’s purpose.

In this event, you will learn about this extraordinary life and its significance for the discussion about genocide today.

A joint event organised by: German Association for the United Nations (Bonn), Pilecki Institute (Berlin), Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Bochum) and the Fritz Bauer Forum (Bochum).

Header photo: ©Amir Kh. The Armenian Genocide Memorial is Armenia’s official memorial to the victims, erected in 1967 on Tsitsernakaberd Hill in Yerevan.