Students Spend Three Days in Poland to See How a Country Deals with its Past

Group photo of MTJ students during their study trip to Poland Group photo of MTJ students during their study trip to Poland

2 April 2019

Students of our MAS in Transitional Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law (MTJ) spent three days in Poland (Krakow and Warsaw) to look into transitional justice issues and see how the country has been deadline with its past.

‘Poland is for me one of the most fascinating and complicated cases of dealing with a difficult past after the Holocaust and the fallout from a long-lasting authoritarian communist regime. The three-day trip provided me with new insights on the role of Poles not only as victims and passive observers, but also arguably as perpetrators, and how the current generations are struggling to deal with such complex identity. I believe this trip is not an end in itself, rather it has left us contemplating additional questions of law, justice and memory’ says Linh Thao Nong.

Preparations in Geneva

The study trip was organized by three MTJ students: Luisa Gómez Betancur, Anthoula Bourolias, and Zoe Fiscus-Doss.

Before leaving to Poland, students met in Geneva with Dr Andre Liebich, Honorary Professor of International History and Politics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, who briefed them on Poland’s history, its post-Communist lustration process, and its current political scene.

MAS in Transitional Justice Study Trip Poland Liebich

Looking into Poland’s Holocaust and Communist Past

Via guided tours, museums visits and discussions with experts, MTJ students learned about the challenges related to dealing with the past in Poland.

In a meeting at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Warsaw, they discussed with scholars – Dr Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Assistant Professor at the Poznań Human Rights Centre of the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences; Marta Saracyn, Programme Director at JCC Warsaw; and Dr Tomasz Lachowski, Transitional Justice Expert at the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Lodz – Poland’s Holocaust and Communist past, including how Polish memory laws applied to the Holocaust and the impact of these laws; the complexities and varied nature of the Jewish identity; and transitional justice in Poland and the post-Communist lustration process.

‘The meetings we had in the Jewish Community Center in Warsaw highlighted one more time the vital significance of creating and preserving a historical narrative that reflects the realities of the past, without being subjected to political manipulation’ underlines Lilit Hovhannisyan.

MAS in Transitional Justice Study Trip Poland Dealing with the Past

A Visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial

Students spent their last day in Poland with a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial.

‘The visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was an unforgettable experience. There is nothing like being physically present at a historical location when trying to comprehend the magnitude of an event, particularly one as overwhelmingly tragic as the Holocaust’ explains Christina Martin.

MAS in Transitional Justice Study Trip Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

IHL Lab Geneva Academy News

Addressing Compliance Gaps in Arms Transfers - is the Arms Trade above International Law?

28 May 2025

Organized with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, this event explored legal gaps and accountability failures in global arms transfers.

Read more

neurotech image News

Research Brief Evaluates the Human Rights Implications of Neurotechnology in Therapeutic and Commercial Applications

27 March 2025

Our research brief, Neurotechnology and Human Rights: An Audit of Risks, Regulatory Challenges, and Opportunities, examines the human rights implications of neurotechnology in both therapeutic and commercial applications.

Read more

Special Rapporteur Sign Event

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in an Era of Escalating Armed Conflict: Where Can International Human Rights Law Help?

25 September 2025, 18:30-20:00

This evening dialogue will present the publication: International Human Rights Law: A Treatise, Cambridge University Press (2025).

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

View of a session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

Human Rights Conversations

Started in January 2020

A series of events aimed at discussing contemporary issues and challenges related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Geneva and beyond.

Read more

Project

Follow-up Review Pilot Series

Started in November 2021

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more