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International Workshop: The Holocaust in the Soviet Union

18 – 22 September 2016, Sunday – Thursday

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Prof. Oleg Budnitsky at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Leonid Rein at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Leonid Rein at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Leonid Rein at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Dr. Arkadi Zeltser lecturing at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Arkadi Zeltser lecturing at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Arkadi Zeltser lecturing at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky and students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky and students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky and students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Leonid Rein at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Leonid Rein at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Dr. Arkadi Zeltser lecturing at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Dr. Arkadi Zeltser lecturing at the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September 18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky and students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Prof. Oleg Budnitsky and students of The Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia taking part in the international workshop "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union". Yad Vashem, September18-22, 2016

Doctoral and MA students from the Moscow Higher School of Economics, one of the most prestigious centers of learning in Russia, recently attended a five-day workshop at Yad Vashem focusing on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union. The workshop, organized by the Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Research on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union at Yad Vashem's International Research Institute, aimed to provide the students with both historical knowledge and practical dilemmas of researching this topic. The students are affiliated with the School’s International Centre for the History and Sociology of WWII and Its Consequences, headed by Prof. Oleg Budnitskii, and as such the workshop emphasized the place of the Holocaust as a specific phenomenon of the war – one that held special importance in the framework of Nazi Germany’s ideological “struggle against Judeo-Bolshevism.” The lectures covered general topics, such as the Holocaust and contemporary antisemitism, as well as those based on empirical research, including the moral dilemmas faced by Jewish councils in the USSR as reflected in diaries, chronicles and journals; how much the Soviet leadership knew and published about the murder of Jews during the war; Nazi racial policy vis-à-vis different groups of Jews in the east; the participation of the German military and police units in the murder of Soviet Jews; and a general overview of the methodological problems encountered by researchers of “The Untold Stories” – the International Institute’s online research project of the mass murder sites in the Soviet Union (see p. 16). While at Yad Vashem, several students of the University presented their research. During his stay, Prof. Budnitskii delivered a lecture on “Women in the Red Army.” In his lecture, Prof Budnitskii described the roles women played in the Soviet forces during WWII. While female combat pilots and snipers received public fame, he pointed out that most Soviet women served in combat support roles, such as anti-aircraft defenses, medical personal, cooks, etc. In addition, he refuted the public image of Soviet women volunteering en masse for duty, noting that most of the women were drafted rather than volunteered for service. He also spoke about the relations between female soldiers and their male comrades-inarms, including sexual abuse of the female soldiers by their commanders. Quoting from the diaries of Esther Fain, who served as a medical orderly, and Irina Dunaevskaya, who was a military translator, Prof. Budnitskii brought forth the personal perspective of Jewish female soldiers. Finally, Prof. Budnitskii lamented that the study of the role of the women in the Red Army continues to be difficult since the majority of the relevant archival records remain classified.

Program of International Workshop: The Holocaust in the Soviet Union