“Respect-Like Disrespect”

And Other Ways Uppsala University Avoids Uncomfortable Questions on Commemoration and Erasure in the Case of Paul A. Levine

to uppsala university

Thank you for your reply, which provides a brief and already familiar official explanation for what has happened.

Skillfully reducing a two-historian request to a one-historian response by casually brushing aside the fact that the initiative’s request was about two historians, not merely one, the Uppsala University’s answer refers to a “purely organizational decision.” Consequently, additional questions arise on acknowledgment and neglect in the case of Paul A. Levine.

Back in 2023, our initiative asked to properly honor Holocaust historian Paul Levine, a co-founder of the Hugo Valentin Centre (HVC), creating a memorial page on the Center’s website to recognize Levine’s contributions. For years if not decades, he played a central role, organizing, helping launch and complete important projects while elevating the HVC to an internationally recognized institution for Holocaust & Genocide Studies. Under Levine’s leadership, the HVC thrived, offering knowledge and employment to many. So why is Levine’s recognition now a problem? Why has there been no dedicated memorial page and plaque for Paul Levine, despite his significant contributions to the HVC and Holocaust Studies? In April 2023, the Head of the Department of History and HVC at Uppsala University responded that: “At the moment, there are no plans for any memorial plaque at HVC.” Howsoever, this reply did not indicate whether Uppsala University had any other plans to commemorate the HVC’s co-founder. Was this just an oversight?

In February 2024, our initiative also asked for corrections to incomplete information about the Hugo-Valentin-Lectures publications on the Center’s website (copy attached). Before moving to Berlin in 2014, Paul Levine was a key figure in organizing, conducting, and publishing these lectures. Now, his name has disappeared from the Center’s newly re-organized web pages. Shortly after the initiative’s request, numerous pages that mistakenly left out Levine’s name—as well as those that still mentioned him—vanished from the institutional webspace entirely. Was this intentional or just a coincidence? Additionally, the way Hugo-Valentin-Lectures information is currently re-structured on the website makes it easy to exclude any mention of Levine’s involvement. Again, was this an accident or something more deliberate? Why was Levine’s name removed from this significant section of the Center’s website, even though Levine’s name would be there both accurate and relevant? Why was Levine’s role in Hugo-Valentine-Lectures publications of the complete period minimized or even erased after his passing?

Now that the HVC has been renamed, should we start to see a bigger picture? Is the logic here simply “no center—no precedent”? Apropos, the Swedish Jewish community tried to stop the center’s renaming, and several historians and journalists spoke out against it. Yet, the university moved in chosen direction anyway. Does this mean they simply don’t care?

There’s another remarkable detail

An international conference was held in memory of Levine at the HVC in February 2023 titled “Advances in Holocaust Research and Education: A Re-evaluation of Perspectives and Methods. A conference in memory of Paul A. Levine”, but it was kept by its organizers completely under wraps—never announced on the institute’s website or social media. It seems to have disappeared without a trace. A year before this event, our initiative asked to participate but was denied, supposedly because it was an internal event meant only for senior academics. But in truth, the conference turned out to be a two-day international event attended by both senior scholars and MA students. The volume program featured long list of scholars from various countries, making it evident that the conference was anything but exclusive to internal participants. Yet, aside from a brief mention on the Lund University’s website, there is little to no record that it ever took place. If it was meant to honor Levine, why keep it so quiet? In contrast two years earlier, in Dec. 2020, our initiative organized and, in collaboration with Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (IU ISCA) and “Tkuma” Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies, held a commemorative international webinar in memory of Paul Levine, “Forward & Don’t Forget: Teaching and Writing about the Holocaust Today”, where scholars from several countries honored Levine and his legacy. This 1,5-hours event remains accessible on both our initiative’s pages and those of the Tkuma. But, again, what about your two-day international event in memory of Levine? Why the secrecy? Why is there no way to watch its records or read the talks delivered at the conference? Given Levine’s major contributions to Holocaust studies in Sweden and across Europe and beyond, it would seem logical to create a public informative page with details about the event that honored him. Why was the international conference held in Levine’s honor not publicized or archived, despite its significance? And, if the conference was meant to honor Paul Levine, why was the “Paul A. Levine Library”-initiative’s request to participate denied under questionable reasoning?

One final point to consider

As highlighted above, the university’s response addressed Hugo Valentin but completely ignored Paul Levine, despite the question being about both Swedish Jewish historians. Now that the Center’s name has changed, is Levine’s legacy at this institution simply being erased? Or is it really a case of “no center—no precedent” when it comes to Paul Levine’s name? What’s in a name, after all? The way the story of Levine’s memory has unfolded doesn’t seem like a series of random coincidences—it looks more like an intentional pattern. Already in the fall of 2021, two years after Paul A. Levine’s passing, many were surprised when former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven gave only modest recognition to Paul A. Levine alongside another medal recipient and fellow historian for “his [Levine’s] significant contributions as an academic, in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and in the Forum for Living History”. It appeared that the medal was awarded to one scholar for the achievements of both. Why? Adding to this, why has the Uppsala University been so resistant to properly recognizing Levine’s legacy, despite clear documentation of his foundational contributions? Obviously, using Levine’s wording, there will always be more questions than answers. But in the case of the discussed Center under its remodeled name, the solution seems clear: Change the name or don’t—an institution should still acknowledge its roots. They are well-documented, even if, for now, they remain largely overlooked. However, for a center dedicated to education and a respected institution, the most appropriate way to set an example of respect—rather than disrespect—would be to handle Levine’s name, achievements, and memory with the dignity they deserve.

To conclude

This writing is not merely a critique of Uppsala University’s politics of memory; it is also an expression of hope for meaningful change. By quickly & quietly removing Paul A. Levine’s name from institutional records, failing to properly commemorate his legacy, and making “a surprise decision” regarding the renaming of the Hugo Valentin Centre, the university sets a troubling example—one that suggests historical recognition is granted based on institutional convenience rather than scholarly merit. If such practices continue, what message does this send about Uppsala University’s politics of memory, academic integrity, and historical responsibility? At a time when “Swedish Teachers Use already Schools for Spreading Political Propaganda”, one must ask as well: What type of education is Uppsala University striving to foster by setting this kind of pattern❓❓

Yours,

Elena Medvedev