Historical Responsibility and Democratic Challenges Today
On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the European Observatory on Memories (EUROM) of the University of Barcelona’s Solidarity Foundation is organising the event Auschwitz and the Construction of European Memory, a meeting devoted to reflecting on the origins, meaning and impact of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial on European culture and identity.
The event will take place on 20 January at 6:30 p.m. in the Ramon i Cajal Lecture Hall at the University of Barcelona, and will feature the participation of Dr. Piotr Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Memorial (Poland), and Dr. Danuta Glondys, a distinguished cultural expert with both personal and professional ties to the history of the memorial.
The session will open with a keynote lecture by Cywiński, focusing on the origins of the memorial, the historical and political context in which it was established, and its influence on the construction of cultural identity in Poland and across Europe. His presentation will also address the role of sites of memory in transmitting the past and in shaping collective responsibility towards history.
The lecture will be followed by a dialogue with Cywiński and Danuta Glondys, moderated by journalist Teresa Turiera-Puigbó. Glondys brings a distinctive perspective that combines early personal experience of the memorial’s formative years with an outstanding institutional career. She has served as Director of the Department of Culture of the City of Kraków and as Director of Villa Decius—an institution that has become a key space for dialogue and the promotion of plurality and tolerance—and has collaborated as a cultural expert with the European Commission.
The conversation will focus on current debates surrounding Holocaust memory, opening up a broader reflection on memory policies in relation to genocides in recent and contemporary history. The discussion will also address the social and political uses of traumatic pasts in a global context marked by mass violence and the violation of human rights.
The event is free and open to the public; however, prior registration is recommended. Simultaneous English–Catalan interpretation will be provided.
Cover image: Ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, January 27, 2025. Source: EUROM
Agenda
6,30 pm | Welcome words by Dr. Agustí Alcoberro, Vice-Rector of Culture, Memory and Heirtage of the University of Barcelona, and Dr. Jordi Guixé, EUROM Director
6,40 pm | Lecture by Dr. Piotr Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Memorial. The beginnings of the Memorial.
7,20 pm | Dialogue with Dr. Dr. Piotr Cywiński and Dr. Danuta Glondys moderated by journalist Teresa Turiera-Puigbó, followed by an open debate with the audience
8,00 pm | End of the activity
Survey
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- Reference of the Project: 101236354
- Type of activity: Awareness-raising
- Title: Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026
- Date: January 20, 2026
- Physical event
- University of Barcelona