DURHAM, N.H. -- Martin Rumscheidt, an ordained minister in Canada and retired professor of historical theology, will speak about his experience as the son of a man complicit in Nazi crimes Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, at 5 p.m. in 115 Murkland Hall at the University of New Hampshire. The event is free and open to the public.

Rumscheidt’s father was an employee of IG Farben, the chemical company and second largest producer in Hitler's military-industrial complex. The senior Rumscheidt’s colleague and close friend Walter Dürrfeld was in charge of constructing and administering IG Farber Auschwitz-Monowitz, a production site that drew the majority of its workforce from the Birkenau concentration camp. Dürrfeld was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Nuremberg court for his crimes. Rumscheidt’s father never addressed the implications of his work for IG Farben and its participation in the “extermination through labor” program the company implemented at Monowitz. 

In his talk, Rumscheidt will focus on specific crimes against humanity perpetrated by IG Farben and on the impact of those activities in terms of Rumscheidt's understanding of himself and his work as the son of a perpetrator. 

The lecture is part of the Hans Heilbronner lecture series which honors the memory of Hans Heilbronner, professor of history, who served the University of New Hampshire with distinction from 1954 until 1991. This event is sponsored by the Endowed Fund for Holocaust Education.