Public talk to focus on resistance in Nazi Germany

MEDIA RELEASE: September 18 2023 – R0084

The lives of those who resisted Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany will take centre stage at an upcoming public lecture hosted by Brock University.

Held Thursday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m., “I won’t go along with this: Resistance by the Persecuted in Nazi Germany,” will feature esteemed scholar Kristin Semmens, Associate Professor of History at the University of Victoria and author of Under the Swastika in Nazi Germany.

The event, which coincides with the United Nations International Day of Peace, is presented by Brock’s Faculty of Humanities and will take place at Pond Inlet on the University’s main campus.

Elizabeth Vlossak, Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, and Professor of History in Brock’s Faculty of Humanities, said it is a privilege to welcome Semmens to the University.

“Not only is she a leading historian on Nazi Germany and an award-winning teacher, but she is also an active Holocaust educator beyond the university, speaking at schools, faith organizations and other public venues about the dangers of racism in the past and the necessity of challenging it in the present,” Vlossak said.

The lecture will be based on Semmens’ research and insight as an expert in 20th-century German and European history, specializing in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Her unique approach to broadly defining “resistance” will outline a variety of forms in which the persecuted attempted to oppose their oppressors.

“This is an important talk that promises to be thought-provoking,” said Vlossak, who encouraged the Brock and wider Niagara community to attend.

While the event is free, advance registration is encouraged through ExperienceBU.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

* Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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