International Holocaust Scholars Conference To Be Hosted In Oxford And London In The Year 2000

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 26 May 1999

To ensure that the memory and lessons of the Holocaust continue to be probed and taught in the next century, a French Protestant scholar is convening a major week-long international conference on the Shoah next year.

Dr. Elisabeth Maxwell, Holocaust scholar and widow of British media magnate Robert Maxwell, spoke of the conference at a meeting of the American Jewish Committee's New York Chapter.

"This conference may be the last major opportunity for scholars to be helped in their deliberations by a significant number of Holocaust survivors. Also, many of the pioneer scholars whose work built up this field, some of whom are themselves survivors, are now reaching retiring age or have already retired," said Dr. Maxwell.

"It is vital," she said, "that the torch be passed on with confidence to a new generation of scholars and teachers, to enable them to carry forward the message and the legacy into the 21st century."

Upon discovering in the 1980's that her husband's family had perished at Auschwitz, Dr. Maxwell devoted the next two decades of her life to Holocaust research and education. She said that chairing this conference and related events -- Remembering for the Future 2000: The Holocaust in an Age of Genocides -- is her attempt "to combat humanity's indifference to horror, the sort of indifference that allowed the Nazis to proceed with impunity and the Jews to die without hope."

The conference will bring together more than 700 Holocaust scholars and other experts to discuss new research, using new technologies for Holocaust education, and the implications of the Holocaust for the contemporary world. It will be held from July 16 - 23, 2000 in Oxford and London, England.

"I know from my own experiences in France that it is possible for an ignorant bystander first to become aware of the reality of human evil," said Dr. Maxwell, "and then to start acting upon a commitment to rid the world of hate-mongers, galvanize others into action, and, by helping to keep alive the memory of that most heinous crime, further the moral education of the coming generations."

RTF 2000 will include a one-day teachers' conference, a four-day international scholars' conference, and a survivors gathering that will include children of survivors, rescuers and liberators. The conference also will feature exhibitions, plays, films and musical commemorations.

Dr. Maxwell said that one goal of the conference "is to develop a heightened awareness of the implications of the Holocaust for Christian theology, preaching and teaching. Since the Shoah took place in 'Christian Europe,' it is imperative that Christians directly address this issue."

Dr. Maxwell has assembled a board comprised equally of Christians and Jews to plan the conference.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org