Rebecca Wittmann

Rebecca Elizabeth Wittmann is a Canadian historian, writer, and professor. Her research interests focus primarily on the Holocaust, post-war Germany, the trials of Nazi perpetrators, and German legal history. Beyond Justice: The Auschwitz Trial, her debut book, was awarded the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History from the Wiener Library in 2005. Currently, Wittmann is an associate professor of history in undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Early life and education Wittmann was born on February 3, 1970.

In 1992, she graduated from the University of Toronto with her Bachelor of Arts degree. Two years later, Wittmann earned her Master's degree from the University of Southern California. In 2001, she graduated with her PhD from the University of Toronto.

Career Wittmann is an associate professor of history at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She mainly teaches classes in Modern and Contemporary Europe, the Holocaust, and remembering atrocities. In her classes, Wittmann encourages her students to "deconstruct their notion of evil."

In 2005, Wittmann's first book, Beyond Justice: The Auschwitz Trial won the Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary European History for Best Book Manuscript from the Wiener Library. At the time she was doing research for the book, the trial had not yet been transcribed. Wittmann had to listen to the tapes of the trials, which helped bring, "to life the atmosphere of the trial in a way that the written word can't do."

Currently, she is working on her second book titled, Nazism and Terrorism: The Madjanek and Stammheim Trials in 1975 West Germany. So far, she has spent a year researching in Germany.

Awards Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, 2004-05 Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary European History for Best Book Manuscript, Wiener Library, 2005 Dean's Special Merit Award for Teaching and Research Excellence, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2005 Fritz Stem Dissertation Prize for the 2001 dissertation in Germany history, German Historical Institute, Washington D.C., 2002 Honorable Mention, Bullen Prize for the Best 2001 history dissertation written in Canada, Canadian Historical Association, 2002