In 1998, the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, together with Yale’s Schell Center for International Human Rights, held an international conference titled Searching for Memory and Justice, a groundbreaking effort to examine the commonalities and differences between the work of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in South Africa and efforts to document witnesses of the Holocaust.
Now, 30 years after the end of Apartheid, and 45 years since Fortunoff Archive recorded its first testimony, the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre and the Fortunoff Archive are inviting scholars and activists to revisit these topics and more in a series of panels, screenings, concerts and an accompanying exhibit. Speakers include Prof Shirli Gilbert, Prof David Simon, Konstanty Gebert, Prof William Gumede, and many more. The event will also solemnly mark 30 years since the end of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda with a keynote by Carl Wilkens.
All conference events will be free, open to the public and held at the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre. A detailed programme will be available on registration.
Join us in deepening our understanding of memory culture, justice, and the key role of testimonies in documenting mass atrocities.