CU Boulder Hillel Announces Holocaust Remembrance Week Programs

Holocaust Awareness Week, once an in-depth program well attended by CU students, faculty, and the Boulder community alike, is now in the third year of its revival. In an age of decreasing Holocaust literacy, CU Boulder Hillel is proud to lead the effort to bring this event back to its former significance after its absence for a number of years.

New this year, the event is being re-branded as Holocaust Remembrance Week as the programming aims to focus more on the application of lessons learned from the study of genocide to our modern world. There are a total of five events, both on campus and at Hillel, over three days in the beginning of April. Please see the schedule and descriptions of the events below. CU Boulder Hillel would especially like to thank Professor Paul Shankman for all of the work that he did to organize Holocaust Remembrance Week this year, and in years past.

Keynote Address: The Holocaust Through Soviet Eyes: The Enduring Life of a Tragic Photograph.

April 2nd (Tuesday) at 5:00 pm in Hale 270, CU Boulder

by Dr. David Shneer, Louis P. Singer Endowed Professor of History and Jewish Studies, CU-Boulder

In January 1942, a photojournalist working for the Soviet newspaper Izvestiia came upon a scene like none he had ever documented. That day, Soviet press photographers took pictures of the first liberation of a German mass atrocity, where an estimated 7,000 Jews and others were executed. The images this particular photographer, Dmitri Baltermants, took that day would have a long life in shaping the image of Nazi genocide in and against the Soviet Union. Presenting never before seen photographs, David Shneer’s forthcoming book, “Grief: The Biography of a Holocaust Photograph,” shows how Baltermants used the image of a grieving woman to render this gruesome mass atrocity into a transcendentally human tragedy.

Panel Discussion: Anti-Semitism Today

April 2nd at 7:00 pm in Humanities 150, CU Boulder

Three panelists will be discussing contemporary anti-semitism in the U.S., Colorado, and Europe. The panelists are Jessica Reaves (Anti-Defamation League), William Safran (Professor Emeritus, CU Boulder), and David Shneer (Professor, CU Boulder)

Survivor Talk: The Holocaust in Hungary: Maria’s Story 

April 3rd at 5:00 pm in Hale 230, CU Boulder

Maria Krenz was born in Hungary during the Holocaust. Hungary was the last country in Europe where Jews had been untouched by the Holocaust. But all that changed in 1944. Maria will be speaking about that period when about 450,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to their deaths in Auschwitz.

Documentary: “Three Siblings” — A documentary by Pablo Ben Yakov

April 3rd at 6:30 pm at CU Hillel (2795 Colorado Ave.)

“Three Siblings” tells the story of three adult Dutch-Jewish siblings of the WWII generation: Menachem, Rudi and Emmie. Each of them describes their own way of coping with their past as children in the German Concentration camps.

• Menachem did not speak about the war for 60 years.
• For Emmie, the holocaust does not end at the end of the war.
• Rudi ends up living his last years back in Germany.

The film will be accompanied by a brief presentation by Eeris and Still Kallil. There will be a Q&A following the film. The subjects of the film are Eeris’s father, Menachem, aunt, Emmie, and uncle, Rudi, which will allow for a more personal experience of the film. This event will last approximately two hours. Parking is available but limited at Hillel, please plan on carpooling.

Refugee Talk: Escape From Hitler’s Europe: Barbara’s Story

April 4th at 5:00 pm in Hale 230, CU Boulder

As a young girl, Barbara Steinmetz and her family were fortunate enough to be able to leave Hitler’s Europe as the Holocaust loomed. But where would they go in a world that was almost entirely closed to Jewish refugees? One tiny country — the Dominican Republic — opened its doors to just 500 refugees. Barbara and her family were among those few to find refuge. This is her story.

All events are free and open to the public.

For additional information, contact Paul Shankman at shankman@colorado.edu