The University was delighted to welcome alumna, Honorary Graduate and
author, Agnes Grunwald-Spier to deliver a public lecture on Wednesday 31
January.
The event was timely with Holocaust Memorial
Day taking place on 27 January, Agnes started the proceedings by asking
the audience to join her in a minute’s silence to remember victims of
the Holocaust.
Her lecture began by talking about her
family’s experiences during the Holocaust. Agnes was born in Budapest in
July 1944. She was a baby in the Budapest Ghetto in November 1944,
until January 1945 when Agnes and her mother were liberated by the
Russians. She talked about how ‘the man in charge sent back the women
with children’, Agnes went on to say how this man effectively saved her
life – without him she and her family would not be here today.
When Agnes was in her fifties, she realised
she could talk little of the Holocaust to her three sons and
subsequently decided to undertake an MA in Holocaust Studies at
Sheffield University (1996-1998). Agnes said the degree ‘changed her
life’ and resulted in her having three books on the Holocaust published.
It was her third book ‘Women’s Experiences in the Holocaust’ that Agnes
discussed in her lecture. The lecture was the first time that the book
had been discussed to an audience, having only been released on 15
January 2018. The focus on women, Agnes explained was due to the fact
that women had very different stories to tell from that of men. Agnes
presented the audience with different case studies from the women in her
book, stories that were harrowing and stories where women displayed
resistance and strength.
Agnes spoke to a full and wholly engaged
audience, the lecture was moving, emotive and thought-provoking. Agnes’
down to earth presence and warm demeanour made for a lecture that left
the audience wanting to hear more.