The Discussion Papers Journal series is a compilation of papers written by leading Holocaust and genocide studies scholars from around the world. The series aims to engage the minds of students and spark lively discussions to expand their awareness of how hatred, discrimination and human rights abuses are shaping world events today. Teachers and students will examine what the implications are for the future and what could and should be done by the international community to stem the tide of violence, ensure the rule of law and protect the most vulnerable. The views expressed by these scholars do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations.
In Volume I, students are introduced to the subject of the Holocaust and its implications through experts in this field of study and testimonies from survivors. German Professor Monika Richarz provides the reader with historical context and insight into Jewish culture before the war and French-born Holocaust survivor Simone Veil gives a first-hand account of experiencing the Holocaust as a Jew. Hungarian writer László Teleki talks about the Roma experience and how this group was similarly targeted by the Nazis. Historian and Professor Yehuda Bauer (Israel) explains how the Holocaust evolved from a utopian ideology that involved hatred towards Jews, while Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiessel (USA) challenges the reader with the question “Why hate?” Other contributors include Professor Xu Xin (China), Professor Ben Kiernan (Australia), Professor Edward Kissi (South Africa), and Francis Deng (former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and today Permanent Representative of South Sudan to the United Nations).
In Volume II, Chinese author Pan Guang delivers a gripping account of how Jews made their way to Shanghai during the Second World War while Polish writer Andrzej Mirga details the Nazi persecution of Roma and Sinti during the same period. Argentine professor Juan E. Méndez bring us to the 21st century with a discussion of the 2011 arrest and pending trial of accused Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic. And the timeless value of Holocaust education is explored as South African Tali Nates shows how education is helping to heal the divisions wrought by apartheid in South Africa and Russian scholar Ilya Altman lays out Holocaust remembrance and education in contemporary Russia. Other contributors are Edward Mortimer and Kaja Shonick Glahn (UK / Germany), David Matas (Canada), Lenore Weitzman (USA), and Robert Krell (Canada).
Volume III presents a diverse group of authors writing on a wide range of topics. Among the contributors are academics, researchers, and sociologists, the chairman of a world-renowned Holocaust museum, the Special Advisers to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, a Hollywood filmmaker, and a former United Nations intern. They are from Canada, Denmark, Israel, Morocco, Senegal, Serbia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their articles deal with a fascinating wide range of issues including Holocaust education in Denmark, and in Morocco; the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; music and the Holocaust; rescue; the preservation of former Nazi concentration and death camps; crimes committed against the Roma and Sinti during the Second World War; the post-Holocaust memory of German-Jewish achievements; and the prevention of atrocity crimes.