HANNOVER, GERMANY — “We Will Live after Babylon: Armenian and Jewish Existential Experiences Between Expulsion, Exile, and Annihilation” is the theme of an international conference to be held in the Kulturzentrum Pavilion of Hannover, Germany, February 24-27, 2019. This unique gathering is organized by the European Centre for Jewish Music (EZJM) and the German-Armenian Society/Deutsche-Armenische Gesellschaft (DAG).

Not only were Armenians and Jews compelled for centuries to live outside their homelands, but they shared another destiny in the twentieth century—the specter of collective destruction in the shadow of two successive world wars. The organizers are using this convergence as the starting point for a collaborative conference that will focus on the Jewish and Armenian historical experiences through scholarly presentations and cultural programs. Subjects and disciplines included in the conference are Diaspora, Minority Issues, Genocide, Trauma and Memory, Armenian-Jewish Relations, Musicology, History, Theology, Literature, Sociology, and Political Science.

The four-day conference will be opened by Sarah Ross and Raffi Kantian, representatives of the two organizations. The keynote speaker is noted historian Dan Diner, and participants from various disciplines will include, among others, Harutyun Marutyan of the Genocide Museum-Institute of Armenia, Richard Hovannisian, Emil Sanamyan, Michael Stone, Laurence Ritter, Ekaterina Norkina, Herve Georgelin, Lawrence Baron, Umit Kurt, Sylvia Alajaji, and Elke Hartmann. The concluding plenary discussion will focus on the differing politics of remembrance of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide in Germany.

Rich accompanying programs of readings, a theatrical performance, concerts, workshops, and a panel discussion are intended to familiarize a broader public with the subject. For details of the program, open either of the following links: https://www.ezjm.hmtm-hannover.de/de/aktuelles/meldungen/zwischen-vertreibung-exil-und-vernichtung/ or http://www.deutscharmenischegesellschaft.de/