A series of thought-provoking discussions on issues surrounding the Holocaust will be hosted by the University of Essex at the Minories Café, Colchester.
Beginning on Monday 17 January, and held over the following Monday evenings, the Twilight Zone Cafes will explore the untold stories of the Holocaust, genocides, discrimination, persecution and marginalisation.
Hosted by the University’s Department of History and building on the successful Twilight Zone Café series held in October 2009, the sessions will feature presentations by different speakers. Set in the informal surroundings of the Minories Café, members of the audience will have the chance to offer their views and comment on the issues raised.
Holocaust survivor and Essex Honorary Graduate Dora Love will open the series with her personal memories of the Holocaust. She will be followed on Monday 24 January by Professor Rainer Schulze, Head of the University’s Department of History, with a discussion on the persecution of gay men under the Nazi regime. Following the discussion free transport will be provided to the University’s Lakeside Theatre for a showing of the film, Paragraph 175, a documentary chronicling the lives of homosexual men arrested by the Nazis.
On Monday 31 January, Professor John Packer, Director of the Human Rights Centre, will ask why some wrongs seem socially acceptable, and LGBT activist Clare Dimyon MBE from PRIDE Solidarity will chart the development of equality and diversity since the Holocaust on Monday 7 February.
Marina Warner, writer and Professor of Creative Writing at the University, will explore ‘Poetry and violence: Can literature help? on Monday 14 February, and the series concludes on Monday 21 February with Richard Cornes, from the School of Law, asking if love, in the eyes of the law, is equal – and if it matters?
All sessions run from 6.30 to 8.30pm and take place in the Minories Bistro @ The Minories Art Gallery, 74 High Street, Colchester. All events are free, but seating is limited, so please book your place in advance, telephone: 01206 872303.
Notes to editors
For more information please contact the University’s Communications Office, telephone 01206 872807, e-mail comms@essex.ac.uk.