The鈥疓eorge and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention invites听you to attend a presentation by guests Patrice听Bensimon听and听Micha艂听Chojak听from听Yahad听- In Unum.听
听Yahad听-听In Unum is the world's leading organization on Holocaust field research. Over the course of more than 14 years of investigation in 8 countries,听Yahad听- In Unum has worked to uncover the Holocaust by bullets: the killings of 2,2 million Jews by the Nazis in Eastern Europe from 1941 to 1944.听They听have听located more than 2000 mass graves of these forgotten Jewish victims and gathered evidence of their massacres.听
听Yahad听-听In Unum has also developed a scientific methodology after years of archival and field research. This expertise has equipped听Yahad听- In Unum to investigate several genocides and mass crimes, including the Nazi genocide of the Roma people, the mass crimes committed during the Guatemalan armed conflict, and the genocide of the Yazidis that is being perpetrated today by ISIS.听
听Yahad听- In Unum also leads academic courses and seminars around the world to help future generations draw lessons from the Holocaust by Bullets.听
听During the conference, Patrice听Bensimon听and听Micha艂听Chojak听will present the specificities of the fieldwork that听Yahad听leads in Eastern Europe on the Holocaust by Bullets.听Yahad's听specific methodology highlights the core of the criminal process of the genocide. What does it mean today to lead research on mass crimes, to document a genocide and to collect evidence of mass violence? How can we complete our understanding of Holocaust history to include the killings that were perpetrated 70 years ago across an entire continent?听
Patrice听Bensimon听serves as Research Director for听Yahad听- In Unum, he started his studies at university in 1997 in the Slavic department at the Sorbonne. He spent one year in Moscow at the University of People鈥檚 Friendship and received his M.A. in Slavic Studies when he returned from Moscow. In 2004-2005, he received a M.A. in Soviet and post-Soviet history; his dissertation topic was 鈥淩enewal of Jewish community in post-Soviet Russia鈥�. Currently, he is a Ph.D candidate in history in the department of Jewish studies at EHESS (School of High Social Science Studies) and is writing a thesis on 鈥渢he Jewish sites of memory in post-Soviet Ukraine".听
Micha艂听Chojak听has worked with听Yahad听- In Unum since 2010, when the organization began its research in Poland. In the past six years, Mr.听Chojak听has participated in 30 research missions in Eastern Europe and interviewed hundreds of eyewitnesses of the Holocaust by bullets. Deputy Director of听Yahad听- In Unum Research Center since 2014, he has specialized in the research of the Holocaust in Poland and Lithuania. He is also involved in听Yahad听- In Unum鈥檚 research projects in Guatemala and Iraq. Originally from Poland,听Micha艂听Chojak听completed his studies at the听Universit茅听Paris-Sorbonne, receiving a Masters in International Trade and a Masters in European affairs.听
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