Holocaust Memorial Day: 27 January

University staff and students have broad expertise and research interests in the study, education and representation of the Holocaust, and we annually mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

University of Winchester staff and students have wide-ranging expertise and research interests around the important topic of the Holocaust. Research in History focusses on memory and representation of this traumatic period of modern history, while research in Philosophy of Education concentrates on Holocaust education, young persons’ emotional engagement with the Holocaust and the role of women in Nazi Germany. Staff and students work closely with external organisations such as the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, as well as museums such as the Imperial War Museum. They have published extensively and developed teaching and museum resources.

Holocaust survivor Steven Frank was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University, has visited us and spoken to our students - the memorial tree he planted on our campus grounds several years ago is thriving. To find out more about Steven, see below.

Public Engagement

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 is Fragility of Freedom. To mark this, modern historian Dr Emily Stiles and Philosophy of Education research student Lucy Dixon explored the concept of freedom past and present in an engaging podcast. Emily is an expert in Holocaust memory and representation and has worked with the Imperial War Museum, while Lucy’s research focusses on the role and complicity of women in Nazi Germany.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2023, Holocaust Education specialists Dr Alasdair Richardson and Cat Kirkland teamed up with two modern historians, Holocaust memory/representation expert Dr Emiliano Perra and museums specialist Dr Emily Stiles, for a panel discussion around the HMD 2023 theme of Ordinary People. In a fascinating hour-long meeting of minds, they explored the concept of ordinariness in the context of total war, the ordinary vs the extraordinary, the role of iconic figures (both good and bad) in public perceptions of the Holocaust and in the curriculum, shifts in Holocaust Studies and Holocaust Education, perceptions of victims and perpetrators, and much more along the way. Watch the full video below.

Dr Richardson delivered a workshop as part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s (HET) Glasgow Walking Tour & Teacher Study Seminar and took part in a panel discussion for the British & Irish Association for Holocaust Studies (BIAHS) on 20^th February. He also worked on the HET’s Lessons from Auschwitz projects, including at least one for University staff and students. Our researchers also engage extensively with schools, leading assemblies with Years 7-11 at Westgate School in Winchester. Dr Richardson also visited Winchester College and three other schools in the region.

Background image: Holocaust experts Dr Emiliano Perra, Dr Emily Stiles, Dr Alasdair Richardson and Cat Kirkland explored Holocaust education and representation and the HMD 2023 theme 'Ordinary people' during a panel discussion.