Roundtable on the representation of trains and stations in Holocaust memory.
– From a symbol of progress to a genocidal tool – Frédéric Crahay – Auschwitz Foundation
– Tracks and traces of deportation – Veerle Vanden Daelen – Kazerne Dossin
– The train of 1000 – Hannes Vanwymelbeke – War Heritage Institute
Frédéric Crahay studied history at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and international
politics at the University of Antwerp. Since 2010, he is working for the Auschwitz
Foundation, of which he has been director since 2015.
Veerle Vanden Daelen is deputy general director and director of Collections &
Research at Kazerne Dossin, Memorial, Museum and Research Centre on the
Holocaust and Human Rights. She holds a PhD in history from the University of
Antwerp
Hannes Vanwymelbeke studied journalism and is currently head of the Memory
Service of the War Heritage Institute.
During the Second World War, 25.490 Jews and 353 Roma were deported from the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen, the vast majority to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The tracks next to the barracks have long since disappeared. On the square in front of the current museum stands a goods wagon, a reminder of the last transports from Mechelen.EUROPALIA is organising the conference Trains and the Holocaust at this place of memorial, in collaboration with the Auschwitz Foundation and Kazerne Dossin. Open to a broad public, the conference will examine the role and image of the train, which evolved from a symbol of modernity to an instrument of genocide.
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