On 16 October 2025, Dr Viviane Dittrich, Deputy Director of the Nuremberg Academy, was the invited speaker at the Nuremberg Lunchtime Book Club (Nürnberger Mittagslesungen). The discussion was chaired by Professor Silvia Mergenthal, formerly Professor for English Literatur and Literary Studies at the Universität Konstanz.
The event offered an occasion to present the work and current projects of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy. Dr Dittrich introduced the mandate of the Nuremberg Academy advancing sustainable peace through justice. Recent and upcoming international conferences and events, capacity strengthening activities in Nuremberg and worldwide, and research projects of the Nuremberg Academy were featured in her presentation. Dr Dittrich also reflected on the 10th anniversary of the Academy and highlighted the key role of the three founders: the Federal Foreign Office, the Free State of Bavaria and the City of Nuremberg.
Dr Dittrich also presented the life and legacy of Thomas Buergenthal by featuring his autobiography „A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy“ and reading excerpts from the book. Judge Thomas Buergenthal was the President and later Honorary President of the Advisory Council of the Nuremberg Academy. After surviving the Holocaust as a child, he emigrated to the US, where he went on to have an extraordinary career in international law. As a professor, he was a pioneer in the field of International Human Rights Law. In addition, he served as a judge on many international courts, including the International Court of Justice, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador and the UN Human Rights Committee.
The Nuremberg Lunchtime Book Club, organised by the Bildungscampus Nürnberg, invites local, regional and international guests every week to speak in the Künstlerhaus in the KunstKulturQuartier in Nuremberg. (vd)