A TALK exploring the Jewish experience in Nazi Germany is being given by a Worcester University lecturer to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
Dr Paddy McNally, principal lecturer in history and politics, will deliver the talk at the Hive Library on January 27.
The talk will examine the observations of Victor Klemperer, a professor of romance languages at the Technical University of Dresden.
Klemperer was born to a Jewish family, he converted to Protestantism and married Eva Schlemmer, an ‘Aryan’.
Klemperer kept a secret diary between 1933 and 1945, recording the progressive persecution of the German Jewish population.
Dr McNally’s lecture will explore how Klemperer’s observations offer insights into the response of ‘ordinary Germans’ to the radicalisation of Nazi Jewish policy, up to and including the Holocaust.
Dr McNally said: “When we think about the Holocaust, we often think about the numbers of people killed. Sometimes it’s helpful to focus on the experiences of individual people because that can bring home the reality of how individuals were affected.”
He continued: “Victor Klemperer is a hugely important figure, and his diary is unique. It records from the beginning of the Nazi regime up to the end of the war, and whenever a historian writes about antisemitism at this time, virtually all of them will refer to his diary because it was so comprehensive.”
The talk will take place from 6pm until 7pm. Places can be booked for free on the Hive website.
