Leo Eitinger: The Psychiatrist Who Survived the Shoah - Lecture by Norwegian historian Bjarte Bruland

Leo Eitinger (1912-1996) was one of the most important European psychiatrists of the 20th century and a pioneer in research on psychological trauma and victimology. Born in Moravia, he fled to Norway to escape Nazi persecution, but was deported to Auschwitz and then Buchenwald in 1943. He was one of only 23 Norwegian Jews to survive the Holocaust. After the war, he became a respected scholar and educator whose research on the effects of trauma has profoundly influenced understanding of the psychological consequences of extreme violence, including war and genocide. Norwegian historian Bjarte Bruland's lecture will focus on key moments in Eitinger's life: his survival of the concentration camps, his later reflection on his own experiences, and how these experiences shaped his scholarly work and public engagement in post-war Norway.

Bjarte Bruland (*1969) is an expert on the history of the Holocaust in Norway. He is the author of a number of studies and monographs, a long-time associate of the Jewish Museum in Oslo, and a former member of the government's commission of inquiry into the confiscation of Jewish property. His work combines historical research with the themes of memory, justice and reparation.