Evelien Gans Lecture by Simon Schama
The second Evelien Gans Lecture will be given by historian Simon Schama. Afterwards, he will engage in a conversation with Arnon Grunberg. This year, the Evelien Gans Lecture will take place in the context of Gesprek Voor de Dam and National Remembrance Day (Nationale Dodenherdenking).Schama will explore the ways in which Holocaust memory is shaped and sustained in the Netherlands.
Simon Schama is a renowned historian in the fields of art history, Dutch, French, and Jewish history. He has published numerous award-winning history books, such as Landscape and Memory (1995), Rembrandt’s Eyes (1999), and A History of Britain (2000), and has created famous television series such as The Story of the Jews and, more recently, The History of Now (2022). Since the attack on October 7, 2023, he has been working on a book about the contemporary history of Jews.
The Evelien Gans Lecture
Evelien Gans (1951 – 2018) was a committed scholar, a critical and combative historian, and a chronicler of Jewish life. In addition to her work as a researcher at the NIOD (Netherlands Institute for War Documentation), she was a professor of Contemporary Judaism. In 2018, she said in an interview with Vrij Nederland: “I am not only Jewish, but also a woman, left-wing, and a historian.” Her sister Heleen Gans, friend Judith Bruinsma, and colleague Dienke Hondius are the initiators of the Evelien Gans Lecture to honor her legacy. They organize the lecture together with De Balie, De Groene Amsterdammer, Jewish Cultural Quarter, and the Menasseh ben Israel Institute. This year, the lecture is part of Gesprek Voor de Dam.
About Gesprek Voor de Dam
Every year, De Balie, in collaboration with Theater Na de Dam, organizes Gesprek Voor de Dam. In the run-up to National Remembrance Day on May 4, we engage with guests and the public in discussions on themes such as remembrance, antisemitism, the Holocaust, and tolerance.
This lecture is made possible by Stichting Collectieve Maror-gelden Nederland, Vfonds and the Netty Rosenfeld Fund.
