โโ Responsible Irresponsibility โโ Paul A. Levine (1956โ2019)
Paul A. Levine, who left this world on October 28, 2019, would probably have smiled โ wryly, perhaps โ at the irony of his own afterlife. A committed Hegelian, he loved to observe how contradictions define existence, and he even coined his own dialectical epitaph: โresponsible irresponsibility.โ Those who knew him recall that he wanted these words engraved on his tombstone โ his final intellectual wink at the world.
And yet, in a twist worthy of his own lectures on historyโs paradoxes, Paul was buried not under a stone bearing his words, but in a collective grave marked only by a small metal plate listing sixteen names, including โPaul Levine,โ a spelling that erases both his middle name and part of his identity. No stone to touch. Just an anonymous patch of ground โ restlessly reshaped, as cemeteries now do, six times in as many years.
But perhaps, as Paul might have said, history itself has a dark sense of humor. What could be more fitting for a Historian of the Holocaust โ a Man who spent his life exposing the mechanics of forgetting โ than to become, in death, a casualty of bureaucratic oblivion?
From this contradiction, however, emerged an act of creative defiance: “A Traveling Tombstone”. Together with sculptor Robert Schmidt-Matt, three natural stone sculptures were created to carry Paulโs oxymoronic legacy across lands and cities โ from Berlin to New York, from Toronto to The Hague.
PILPAUL
TEVAT PAUL
BEYAHAD LO NI-PAUL
In the end, Paulโs memory travels, debates, provokes โ as he always did. His absence, too, teaches. Responsible? Irresponsible? โ Both, of course.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article on April 6th titled โJews Should Not Have to Take a Detourโ, spotlighting the case of Paul A. Levine. (1)
In it, they make one thing painfully clear: Levine is being systematically erased from institutional memory โ and that silence speaks louder than any statement.
You can read our latest appeal (2) to the university, but hereโs the heart of it:
By refusing to even mention Levine by name, the university sends a clear message: Erasure is easier than accountability. Silence is safer than truth. This isnโt just about ignoring a scholar. Itโs about erasing the very questions he dared to ask โ and thatโs a dangerous precedent.
When an internationally respected Holocaust scholar like Paul A. Levine can simply be removed from memory, we have to ask: Whose memory is protected, and whose gets deleted next? And if this is happening at Swedenโs oldest university โ a supposed hub of critical thought โ what does that say about the future of Holocaust Studies there?
How stable is the memory we rely on, and how easily can it collapse?
Weโll have to wait and see. But one thingโs for sure: this community is watching.
On behalf of the initiative, I want to thank all of you โ some of you have been with us for six years now! Your continued support is what makes this possible.
A special thanks to journalist David Stavrou and Haaretz for shining a light where others prefer shadows.
โDear Elena and the Paul A. Levine Library, In regards to your questions about the conference you refer to, it was not arranged by Uppsala University and thus, I cannot answer any questions on how it was organized. In regards to your questions concerning the renaming of the Hugo Valentin Centre, I refer to my previous answer.โ
In fact, this reply is yet another disheartening attempt by the university to distance itself from Levineโs name โ ignoring our outreach, keeping an international conference that supposed to honor Levine hidden from public view, and recently, renaming the center raised up by Levine to make the center essentially, nameless.
We do not accept this kind of response
Removing the name of Hugo Valentin from the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studiesโhas been described by international scholars and historians as โremoving the Jewish perspective from the Holocaust,โ which may explain why this academic center has repeatedly rejected requests to honor Jewish Holocaust historian Paul Levine, who was one of its leading historians. Although Levine, who died in 2019, was a groundbreaking Holocaust historian and a laureate of the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Medal, the center refused to create a memorial page on its website or place a plaque at the center to recognize his contribution.โ โ uncovers Haaretz, the newspaper with the third-largest circulation in Israel.Could this latest Swedenโs intention of โremoving the Jewish perspective from the Holocaustโ also be the hidden message behind the unemphatic, incomplete, and superficial universityโs response โ one that makes no mention of Levine โ or is there another explanation?
Apropos, the conference you referred to โAdvances in Holocaust Research and Education: A Re-evaluation of Perspectives and Methods. A conference in memory of Paul A. Levineโโ which you claim was not organized by UU โ was, in fact, organized by Uppsala Universityโs institution the Hugo Valentin Center that was existing then (where the conference also took place) in tight cooperation with some others. Moreover, this two-days international conference was announced merely through universityโs intranet, as much as possible without leaking to the outside world about its achievement โ a bothering and upset nuance for the international participants. So, why your response was again a vague denial?
Some deeper concerns
Why did the named conference organizersโaffiliated with Uppsala University, including one of Levineโs co-authors and another with personal family ties to himโnot only exclude our initiative, but go so far as to actively conceal the international event held in Levineโs honor from the public? Was it because some of organizers assumed we would not come empty-handed, but with A Traveling Tombstone, a memorial stone that has no permanent place, as supposed for a tombstone, but a story to tell? Isn’t that one of real reasons? Could the exclusion of the initiative have been an attempt to cover up a deeply troubling history involving some of those individuals? After all, Levine was buried in a collective grave, in direct contradiction to his last wish. A try to avoid this unemphatic decision was a key reason for launching our initiative in fall 2019, right after the historianโs passing โ to secure funding for a proper resting place with a personal tombstone, as Levine had wished but was ultimately denied.
Sadly not enough, Levine was denied the recognition he deserved after his deathโincluding when Levine was post mortally refused a national award in 2021 under the explanation that it could not be given posthumously. What a poor excuse?! By that time, the awarding body was aware of Levineโs passing and could have easily chosen a more visible and appropriate way to honor the historianโhad they approached the situation with empathy and thoughtfulness. What makes this all the more striking is that at the very university where Levine dedicated decades of his lifeโestablishing the Hugo Valentin Center into an internationally recognized institutionโnot a single physical or digital space has been created in his memory at Uppsala University. Quite the opposite, the universityโs pages that have included Levineโs name disappeared, being completely removed. Finally, as one of the most influential and respected newspaper in Israel reports,โthe center refused to create a memorial page on its website or place a plaque at the center to recognize his [Levineโs]contributionโ.
Uppsala, what is really going onโ
What is this โsecretโ that is being withheld? Is it the โremoving the Jewish perspectiveโ, or simply the universityโs inability to act with empathy? And yet, that very empathy was the core of Levineโs teaching and writing. Historian insisted that studying the Holocaust must go beyond facts โ that it must foster human understanding and moral responsibility. The absence of such empathy in how Uppsala University handles Levineโs memory is not just disappointing โ itโs both a scandal and, as we learn, part of a broader pattern of marginalizing Jewish voices in Swedish academia. Fortunately, itโs no longer a secret.
Indeed, why does Uppsala University continue to avoid addressing Levineโs memory, when there is nothing left to hide? Why not simply collaborate with our initiative in building a proper, lasting memorial for the Jewish, Swedish American historian and Raoul Wallenberg Medal laureate? Because our initiative will build it regardless, but together we could do far more, donโt you think so? Or is there still something Uppsala University isnโt telling usโย
Au passage, there are indications shedding more light on how Paul A. Levine was pushed out of the university in 2014 by effectively pressuring him into signing a resignation letter “of his own will” precisely at a time when Levine was ill and undergoing his medical treatment. Could this fact be also part of the reason behind the rushing erasure of Levineโs memory from the universityโs landscape? โ We donโt know for certain yet, but it seems thereโs another little-known chapter in this story worth uncovering. Especially in a time when, across various contexts, the removal of the Jewish perspective from the Holocaust appears to be an emerging pattern in Swedish academia, as we continue to hear and read.
Whether our questions will be forwarded to a person at Uppsala University who is soon prepared to answer them โ honestly, respectfully and with the empathy that Paul A. Levine taught is essential for historical understanding, instead of Uppsala University continuing to dishonor Levine’s memory through silence and exclusionโฆ is considered a very faint glimmer of hope.
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 initiativeโs request was about two historians, not merely one, the Uppsala University’s answer refers to a โpurely organizational decision.โ 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 Levineโs 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 Levineโs leadership, the HVC thrived, offering knowledge and employment to many. So why is Levineโs 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: โAt the moment, there are no plans for any memorial plaque at HVC.โ 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 Centerโs 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 Centerโs newly re-organized web pages. Shortly after the initiativeโs request, numerous pages that mistakenly left out Levineโs nameโas well as those that still mentioned himโvanished 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 Levineโs involvement. Again, was this an accident or something more deliberate? Why was Levineโs name removed from this significant section of the Centerโs website, even though Levineโs name would be there both accurate and relevant? Why was Levineโs 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 centerโno precedent”? Apropos, the Swedish Jewish community tried to stop the centerโs renaming, and several historians and journalists spoke out against it. Yet, the university moved in chosen direction anyway. Does this mean they simply donโt care?
Thereโs 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 wrapsโnever announced on the instituteโs 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 Universityโs 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 โTkumaโ 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 initiativeโs 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 Levineโs 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 Levineโs honor not publicized or archived, despite its significance? And, if the conference was meant to honor Paul Levine, why was the “Paul A. Levine Libraryโ-initiativeโs request to participate denied under questionable reasoning?
One final point to consider
As highlighted above, the universityโs response addressed Hugo Valentin but completely ignored Paul Levine, despite the question being about both Swedish Jewish historians. Now that the Centerโs name has changed, is Levineโs legacy at this institution simply being erased? Or is it really a case of “no centerโno precedent” when it comes to Paul Levineโs name? Whatโs in a name, after all? The way the story of Levineโs memory has unfolded doesnโt seem like a series of random coincidencesโit looks more like an intentional pattern. Already in the fall of 2021, two years after Paul A. Levineโs passing, many were surprised when former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lรถfven gave only modest recognition to Paul A. Levine alongside another medal recipient and fellow historian for โhis [Levineโs] significant contributions as an academic, in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and in the Forum for Living Historyโ. 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 Levineโs 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 donโtโan 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 respectโrather than disrespectโwould be to handle Levineโs name, achievements, and memory with the dignity they deserve.
To conclude
This writing is not merely a critique of Uppsala Universityโs politics of memory; it is also an expression of hope for meaningful change. By quickly & quietly removing Paul A. Levineโs name from institutional records, failing to properly commemorate his legacy, and making โa surprise decisionโ regarding the renaming of the Hugo Valentin Centre, the university sets a troubling exampleโone 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 Universityโs politics of memory, academic integrity, and historical responsibility? At a time when โSwedish Teachers Use already Schools for Spreading Political Propagandaโ, one must ask as well: What type of education is Uppsala University striving to foster by setting this kind of patternโโ
Uppsala โ your decision is difficult to understand. Please explain
How remarkable does it sound: two jewish names of significant Swedish historians are now gone at Uppsala University?!
End 2023 and in the beginning of 2024, the Initiative askedย Uppsala Universityย to place a plaque in honor of historian Paul A. Levineย on the walls of The Hugo Valentine Center (HVC), whereย the Jewish-American-Swedish Holocaust historian Paul A. Levineย was a co-founder. Levine successfully championed the development of this institute for decades.
With Paul A. Levine at the helm, the HVC stood as the leading institution in Holocaust studies and education throughout Sweden. Both Levineโs achievement and HVCโs significance are well-documented and widely recognized. Not least for this reason after Levine’s passing, the Initiative “Paul A. Levine Library” requested that the HVC places a commemorative plaque at the institution in Levineโs honor . The response? A curt dismissal: “We do not plan…”
Now that we see their plans laid out in David Stavrou Kayโs article in ืืืจืฅ, the deeper, unsettling question remains: What does it sayโabout Swedish society today and the shaping of historical memoryโthat Uppsala University has erased two prominent Jewish names from its surface? Is this mere academic restructuring, or a reflection of something more troubling in Swedenโs reckoning with its past and present?
The Hugo Valentin Center (HVC) was co-founded by historian Paul A. Levine at Uppsala University. It was not only a milestone in Levineโs career but also one of defining institutions in the entire field of Holocaust studies and education in Sweden. Its significance is well-documented and widely recognized.
Be Part of a Living Memorial: Our channel is a digital monument honoring Levineโs memoryโan initiative led by students to keep his teachings alive building a meaningful virtual tribute.
โ In Arabic, Turkish & Persian about the Holocaust โ
The only book of its king In Arabic, Turkish & Persian. ยซTell Ye Your Children; A Book about the Holocaust, 1933- 1945ยป written by Paul A. Levine and Stephane Bruchfeld.
The book “Tell Ye Your Children…”, written for children, is telling stories about children and is addressed primarily to adults.ย
โ Looking back at โProtecting the Future” in Moscow, 2018 โ
Despite Levine’s courage in expressing a strong civil democratic position and fulfilling of historianโs responsibility in the lair of the autocrat, his act and its signal message remains quite unknown.
You can read our latest appeal (2) to the university, but hereโs the heart of it:
How stable is the memory we rely on, and how easily can it collapse?
Paul A. Levine Library 