„Music, Violence, Memory in Auschwitz-Birkenau“

In an attempt to distract themselves and make their lives more comfortable, concentration camp guards forced prisoners to perform music for them. Research into musical practices in the camps has so far focused on music as an act of resistance and resilience by the prisoners. Only recently has the perspective broadened: music in the camps was also used as a means of control, humiliation, and torture. The upcoming conference will specifically explore this perspective of music as an act of violence.

The choice of the former concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz as the venue brings the discussion back to its place of origin and simultaneously opens up another perspective—that of remembrance and commemoration. As the most thoroughly researched camp, Auschwitz offers the opportunity to examine contemporary practices of Holocaust remembrance and to highlight the importance of ongoing research. The conference will focus on three thematic areas connected through music: violence, memory, and spatiality.

The conference will take place from 26 to 28 November 2025 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Oświęcim, Poland. Researchers from Poland, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany will present their work. Student excursions from Bayreuth and Poznań, as well as other cities, will also be part of the conference. All interested parties are warmly invited to attend the conference free of charge. Registration is possible via the form on the conference website and is open until 10 November: https://www.fimt.uni-bayreuth.de/de/forschung/tagungen/auschwitz/index.html

The conference is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German Foundation for Peace Research, and the University Association Bayreuth e. V. The excursion of Bayreuth students is supported by BAYHOST and Almaviva e. V.