"In some sense, this (event) is the culmination of the Holocaust focus," Foreman explained.
He encouraged potential attendees to attend for the entire event. Everything is free, including the prisoner's meal of bread and soup, and time is included for viewing of the exhibit.
Both Setkiewicz and Blodig have engaged in discussions with students at Centre, in one instance through a class that focused on Christian and Jewish relations.
Setkiewicz said he looked at the anti-Semitism that exists in some countries as well as the reactions of Christians to such an issue.
Presenting "the story of the Czech Jewry during World War II"
Blodig said he presented the "story of the Czech Jewry during World War II." Most Czech Jews were concentrated in the Terezn ghetto, and Blodig talked about the development of that camp as well as some of the inmates after the liberation.
Monday, Setkiewicz and Blodig will present a lecture titled "Preserving a Legacy." The subject matter is the Holocaust in their countries - Poland and the Czech Republic - Setkiewicz said. He will explore different issues from the concentration camp, such as how the prisoners lived, how records were kept, and why proof does exist that the Holocaust happened. Setkiewicz added that most of the German records were falsified by the Nazi secret service, but key words - for instance "special treatment" could indicate Jews - in some of the records indicate what was happening.
"It is not easy to understand the documents without a sufficient background," he noted.
They also are taking about their respective institutions and the "changes in the presentation of the history of the Holocaust in our countries," Blodig said.
Added Setkiewicz, "And how we are trying to preserve the legacy of the Holocaust." Efforts have been made both at Auschwitz-Birkenau and Terezn to preserve the structures, and both present educational programs as well as tours. Some of the pieces in the "Voices in the Darkness" exhibit at the Norton Center are on loan from Blodig's organization.
"There is a wide scope of different activities tied in with the Holocaust," Setkiewicz noted.
Setkiewicz said the program will include lectures by Mark Ludwig, director of the Terezn Chamber Music Foundation, about cultural life in the Terezn concentration camp. Also on hand will be Ela Weissberger, a survivor of the Terezn Concentration Camp. She performed the role of "Cat" in more than 50 performances of the children's opera "Brundibar," including the performances filmed for the Nazi propaganda movie, "The Fhrer Gives a Town to the Jews."
"The will for survival of the former inmates is an important part of this program," he noted.
Exploring how and why the Holocaust happened
Also important is exploring how and why the Holocaust could have happened in the heart of Europe, Setkiewicz added.
"It is important because it was unique in the history of humanity," he explained. "The simple question is, 'Why should we remember?' The answer is that it is so important - it had never happened in the history of the human race. The Nazis tried to kill a whole race ... in various industrialized ways. The gas chambers were carefully planned.
"Some think it happened one time and never (will) again."
But Setkiewicz has heard rhetoric out of countries such as France that sends chills down his spine. The words could have been pulled from Hitler's "Mein Kampf."
