Be Weather Aware: Winter Storm Warning Saturday – Monday in our area. Please monitor local weather and campus notifications for updates. See Asbury’s Winter Storm Plan here.
On January 14, Asbury University welcomed educator and historian David Kennedy for a powerful lecture titled “Auschwitz as a Place of Learning: The History and Work of the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim.” Sponsored by the Asbury University Honors Program, the presentation drew students, faculty, and community members for an evening of education, reflection, and dialogue.
Kennedy shared insights from his work at the International Youth Meeting Centre (IYMC) in Oświęcim, Poland: an educational institution founded through collaboration between the German peace organization, Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, and the City of Oświęcim.
The Centre, located between the city and the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, embodies the pedagogical principle of “Auschwitz as a place of learning,” offering young people meaningful opportunities to confront the history and legacy of the Holocaust.
During his talk, Kennedy explained the origins of the IYMC, which was established nearly forty years ago to encourage deep engagement with the atrocities of World War II and to promote peace, understanding, and reconciliation across borders. The Centre’s programs bring together students from Germany and around the world to learn not only what happened at Auschwitz, but also why it could happen, fostering honest dialogue around conscience, responsibility, and human dignity.
Kennedy’s journey to this work is deeply rooted in personal history. A Polish-American with strong familial ties to Oświęcim, he has lived in the town since 2007 and has worked as an educator at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, guiding visitors through the site’s history. His family lived in the region before and during World War II, but like many in post-war Europe, rarely spoke of their experiences. Generational trauma, political repression under Soviet influence, and societal stigma contributed to a culture of silence surrounding the past: a silence Kennedy later chose to confront through education and remembrance.
The International Youth Meeting Centre plays a crucial role in teaching young people their history and why events like the Holocaust happened. Through seminars, workshops, and guided discussions, the IYMC encourages participants to explore the roots of prejudice, violence, and exclusion. This work goes beyond historical facts; it invites students to consider how society can rebuild bridges, cherish human rights, and uphold the dignity of all people, even after the darkest chapters of history.
Kennedy’s lecture connected deeply with the core values of the Asbury University Honors Program, which emphasizes studies in virtue, human value, and ethical inquiry. The Centre’s focus on dialogue around complex history aligns with the Honors Program’s mission to cultivate thoughtful, compassionate leaders who can engage with challenging moral questions. By bringing testimonies, historical education, and intercultural conversation into spaces of learning, the IYMC works to rehumanize the victims of the Holocaust, giving voice and significance to those who perished through remembrance and education.
Attendees reflected on the importance of such work in a world still grappling with hate, division, and injustice. Through Kennedy’s lecture, students and community members were reminded that remembering the past is not just an academic exercise; it is a vital part of building a future rooted in empathy, virtue, and human value.