09/22/2026
Last week, our Melikian Center had the honor to host a book discussion on Shattered Liberation: Sexualized Violence Against Holocaust Survivors, 1943–1946. 📚
The event featured a compelling conversation with the volume's editor, Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, alongside discussants Madelaine Adelman and Yan Mann.
The book challenges the popular imagination of a universally joyous liberation of Holocaust survivors by the Red Army. It stands as one of the first volumes to shine a light on the devastating reality of sexualized violence endured by survivors at the hands of the Soviet Army, partisans, rescuers, and filtration camp personnel during the liberation process.
Editor Anna Cichopek-Gajraj is an Associate Professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at ASU. Her research focuses on Polish-Jewish relations, pogrom violence, antisemitism, and twentieth-century migrations in Poland and its diasporas.
Discussant Madelaine Adelman is a Professor in the School of Social Transformation at ASU. Her research interests span political and legal anthropology, socio-legal studies, gender violence, LGBTQ+ and education justice, and social movements.
Discussant Yan Mann is an Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at ASU. His research specializes in the Second World War and revolves around the relationship between individual and collective memory of the Great Patriotic War, propaganda, and censorship.
Thank you to our brilliant panelists and to everyone who joined us for this deeply impactful and necessary discussion.
