Understanding Evil. Bridging Auschwitz and modern hatecrimes.
(Auschwitz Jewish Center – Auschwitz, Poland)
In this workshop a case study of a program for Polish law enforcement called „Understanding Evil”,executed by the Auschwitz Jewish Center in partnership with Center for Research on Prejudice at Warsaw University and the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish police, was presented. The program is a set of three-day intensive seminars which combine an indepth study of selected chapters of the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, with a visit to the actual site of Auschwitz and a practical module on investigation of modern hate crimes by a police expert. Understanding Evil seminars use the power of place at one of the most notorious sites of the Holocaust, the former camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, to impress upon the officers the critical nature of awareness of dehumanization and human rights. Examining this unique history sheds light on the contemporary responsibility of law enforcement to police crimes against members of diverse ethnic, religious, and social groups. Between 2014 and 2016 200 key mid-level police officers from all over Poland participated in the program, which amounts to 50% of the mid-level commanding police staff in the country.
