Research in Conversation lecture to mark Holocaust Memorial Day
Huddersfield is celebrating 200 years of professional and vocational education and innovation, and the University of Huddersfield is marking the bicentenary of the establishment of Huddersfield’s Scientific and Mechanic Institute in 1825 through a range of events, activities and celebrations of the learning environment across the town and the wider district of Kirklees.
As part of the 200th anniversary, the latest in the Research in Conversation lecture series will focus on how the Holocaust continues to be remembered and investigated by the University of Huddersfield’s Centre of Archaeology.
The Centre’s Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls will deliver a talk that starts the University’s evening event on 28 January to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. The event starts at 5pm and free tickets are available from Eventbrite.
Professor Sturdy Colls will explore how archaeology is shedding new light on some of the darkest chapters of 20th- and 21st-century history and examine:
- How archaeologists uncover new insights into the fate of missing persons
- The landscapes of violence and genocide and the surprising clues left behind
- How diverse communities are engaging with and confronting these painful histories
“I will focus on the way in which archaeology has been used to help communities in a number of different ways with regards to finding out more about the Holocaust, commemorating these events and helping survivors and their relatives find out what happened to their own families in the later stages of their lives,” says Professor Sturdy Colls
“I'll talk about a visit I have made to Treblinka with someone who survived the Holocaust, but who lost his entire family at the extermination camp. It was an incredibly emotional and humbling experience for me, one I will never forget.
“I will also talk about the educational initiatives that we've done and the opportunities to bring people together to learn about the Holocaust in different and dynamic ways.”
Drawing on her work at over 60 sites worldwide, Professor Sturdy Colls will share inspiring stories of people coming together to face difficult pasts. You’ll hear about ground-breaking projects that use everything from community digs to theatre and art to promote understanding and healing.
Whether you’re a history enthusiast, passionate about social justice, or curious about the role of research in modern society, this eye-opening lecture will change the way you think about archaeology’s impact on communities and their recovery.