The Holocaust Studies Forum

Inaugurated in fall 2009, the Holocaust Studies Forum connects top scholars in the field of Holocaust research with American University students and the broader public in a series of lectures and discussions. The Holocaust Studies Forum is jointly sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program, Department of History, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Center's Advanced Holocaust Studies.

Here are a few examples of past lectures:

2012-2013

"Understanding Local Genocide: A Galician Town in the Time of the Holocaust,” Omer Bartov, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Senior Scholar-in-Residence Fellow, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

“Home and Homelessness,” Miriam Isaacs, “Life Reborn” Fellowship for the Study of Displaced Persons, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

2011-2012

“The Samuel Golfard Diary of the Holocaust in Ukraine,” Dr. Wendy Lower, Research Fellow in Eastern European History, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich.

“Pillage and Killings of Jews by their Neighbors,” Jan Gross (Princeton University), 2011–2012 Sosland Foundation Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Professor of History and Norman B. Tomlinson ’16 and ’48 Professor of War and Society at Princeton University Holocaust Studies Forum.

"Together and Apart: Jewish Studies at Polish Universities Between the Two World Wars," Natalia Aleksiun (Touro College), 2012 Pearl Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.

"Jewish Survivors in Occupied Germany: Close Encounters and Entangled Histories," Atina Grossman (Cooper Union), 2011–12 Diane and Howard Wohl Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, USHMM.

"Jewish Theological Response to the Holocaust," Steven Katz (Boston University), 2011–12 J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Senior Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.

For more information on this year's lectures, and our other work with the museum, visit the USHMM Opportunities Page.

Guest Lectures

The program sponsors numerous guest lectures by renowned scholars from around the country. Here are a few of the highlights:

2012-2013

Rene Bloch, University of Bern, Switzerland: “Moses and Myth: Jewish Encounters with Greek Mythology”

Peter Manseau, author of Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter: “Found in Translation: How the son of a Catholic priest and nun learned Yiddish and became an award-winning novelist”

Ariel Sabar, author of My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for his Family’s Past

Scholarships

Thanks to our generous supporters, the following students received scholarships and awards.

2012-2013
Zach Belinsky, Greenfield Family Scholarship
Arielle Finegold, Everett and Marian Gordon Scholarship
Matthew Zonis, Everett and Marian Gordon Scholarship
Linda Benesch, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Joshua Guzman, Everett and Marian Gordon Scholarship
Lindsay Malin, Everett and Marian Gordon Scholarship
Sandra McKernan, Everett and Marian Gordon Scholarship
Cornelia Poku, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Rachel Ripps, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Jeffrey Levin, Estelle Seldowitz Endowed Scholarship

2011-2012
Arielle Finegold, Jane and Jerrold Goodman Scholarship
Matthew Zonis, Jane and Jerrold Goodman Scholarship
Zach Belinsky, Greenfield Family Scholarship
Rebecca Levy, Greenfield Family Scholarship
Linda Benesch,Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Scott Berman, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Hayley Miller, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Cornelia Poku, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Rachel Rabinowitz, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Rachel Ripps, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Mary R. Rothermich, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship
Alahna Sergi, Judaic Arts and Studies Scholarship

2010-2011
Kristina Berinson, Jane and Jerrold Goodman Scholarship
Lisa Paquette, Jane and Jerrold Goodman Scholarship
Eleanor Rose, Jane and Jerrold Goodman Scholarship
Renee Best, Everett and Marion Gordon Scholarship
Becca Levy, Stephen and Lynn Greenfield Scholarship

Voices of Terezin

In the Spring 2010 semester the Jewish Studies Program, in cooperation with the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Performing Arts, the AU Bender Library, AU Abroad, and the Embassy of the Czech Republic, presented the Voices of Terezin Project. The Project brought together diverse elements of the American University community to commemorate the history of the Theresienstadt ghetto, a Nazi concentration camp located in what is now the Czech Republic. Through an array of performances, discussions, film showings, and exhibits, the project aimed to create a greater awareness of these events and foster further discussion about the legacy of the Holocaust. For more information about the events and their impact, visit the Project's homepage.

"Tough Guys" Documentary Film Series

In the spring 2010 semester the Jewish Studies Program collaborated with George Washington University's Judaic Studies Program to present a series of film screenings and discussion forums. The content was based on a program prepared by the Foundation for Jewish Culture, featuring three films on Jewish masculinity in the modern world. This program marked the first collaboration between the Jewish studies programs of AU and GW.