The Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies

Event Details

• Monday, September 23, 2024
  7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  City: Peterborough
  Market Hall
  Cost: Free

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The Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies. Dr. Peter Suedfeld presents "The Shattering of the Assumptive World: A Family Story" 

Description

Two families, joined in marriage, lived as ordinary Hungarian citizens for several centuries. Their accustomed way of life changed drastically when in the 1940’s the Holocaust focused on the Jews of Hungary. Over the next few years, they lost all rights, possessions, and protection from the state. Eventually, all younger men became slave labourers for the army; other family members were deported to concentration camps, mostly to Auschwitz, where many were murdered; and most of the rest were crammed into the ghetto. Peter, the sole child in both families, was hidden in an orphanage. The talk describes the diverse nature of their experiences and of how the survivors rebuilt their lives, with new homes, new work, and in some cases new families.

Please make sure to pre-register for this event! This event will be recorded. 

Speaker Bio

Peter Suedfeld was born in Budapest, Hungary. In the 1940’s, his Jewish family was forcibly scattered by the Nazi occupiers and their local supporters. Many relatives, including his mother, died in Auschwitz; others were slave labourers on the front lines of the war, or in the ghetto of Budapest, under dire circumstances. After the war, the survivors reunited; most left Hungary. Peter survived in an orphanage, as a hidden child with false documents. He and his father eventually emigrated to the U.S. Peter moved to Canada in 1972, and until his retirement worked at UBC, first as Professor and Head of the Department of Psychology and later as Dean of Graduate Studies. Most of his over 300 scientific publications and eight books examine how human beings cope and thrive despite challenging, adverse, dangerous, and even traumatic circumstances. Among many other honours, he has been invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada, elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and selected to receive the first honorary doctorate conferred by the Université de Nîmes.

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Community Speaker Series 

Sharing knowledge is one of the ways Trent University gives back to our host communities and provides life long learning experiences to alumni. Each year, Trent offers open lectures featuring visiting faculty and experts, sharing ideas on subjects such as the Environment, Gender & Women's Studies, Business & Society, Chemistry, Cultural Studies, and Indigenous Studies. These talks are free and open to the Trent and broader communities. These lectures are made possible thanks to generous donor support. 

Contact Info

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