Rebecca Elizabeth Wittmann is a Canadian historian, writer, and professor. Her research interests focus primarily on the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, post war Germany, the trials of

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

perpetrators, and German legal history. ''Beyond Justice: The Auschwitz Trial'', her debut book, was awarded the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History from the

Wiener Library The Wiener Holocaust Library () is the world's oldest institution devoted to the study of the Holocaust, its causes and legacies. Founded in 1933 as an information bureau that informed Jewish communities and governments worldwide about the pe ...

in 2005. Currently, Wittmann is an associate professor of history in undergraduate and graduate studies at the

University of Toronto Mississauga The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), also known as U of T Mississauga, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the campus opened in 1967 as Eri ...

Early life and education

Wittmann was born on February 3, 1970. In 1992, she graduated from the University of Toronto with her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree. Two years later, Wittmann earned her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the University of Southern California, San Diego. In 2001, she graduated with her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.

Career

Wittmann is an associate professor of history at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She mainly teaches classes in Modern and Contemporary Europe, the Holocaust, and remembering atrocities. In her classes, Wittmann encourages her students to "deconstruct their notion of evil." She has previously earned fellowships from the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Rese ...

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada, CRSH) is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and traini ...

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...

, and

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

(DAAD). Wittmann has written for various journals, including ''German History'', ''Ethics and International Affairs'', ''Central European History'' and '' Lessons and Legacies.'' In 2005, Wittmann's first book, ''Beyond Justice: The Auschwitz Trial'' won the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary European History for Best Book Manuscript from the Wiener Library. At the time she was doing research for the book, the trial had not yet been transcribed. Wittmann had to listen to the tapes of the trials, which helped bring, "to life the atmosphere of the trial in a way that the written word can't do." Currently, she is working on her second book titled, ''Nazism and Terrorism: The Madjanek and Stammheim Trials in 1975 West Germany.'' So far, she has spent a year researching in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Awards

*Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, 2004-05 *Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary European History for Best Book Manuscript, Wiener Library, 2005 *Dean's Special Merit Award for Teaching and Research Excellence, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2005 *Fritz Stem Dissertation Prize for the 2001 dissertation in Germany history, German Historical Institute, Washington D.C., 2002 *Honorable Mention, Bullen Prize for the Best 2001 history dissertation written in Canada, Canadian Historical Association, 2002

Bibliography

Books

*''Beyond Justice: The Auschwitz Trial'', 2005,

Articles

*"The Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly: The Pre-Trial Investigations of the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial," ''Central European History'', 2002 *"Indicting Auschwitz? The Paradox of the Auschwitz Trial," ''German History'', 2003 * *"Legitimating the Criminal State: Former Nazi Judges on the Stand at the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial," ''Lessons and Legacies VI: New Currents in Holocaust Research'', 2004

External links

Gerhard Weinberg and Rebecca Wittmann: ''The Liberation of Europe, 1945'' at Pritzker Military Museum & Library

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittmann, Rebecca Living people University of Toronto alumni University of Southern California alumni Historians of the Holocaust 1970 births