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Remembering Together: Jews, Roma, and the Complexities of Memory
What happens when two persecuted groups—both targeted for annihilation—tell their stories side by side? That’s the question at the heart of Ari Joskowicz’s powerful exploration in Rain of Ash. Speaking on Holocaust Remembrance Day as part of UC San Diego’s Holocaust Living History Workshop, Joskowicz, professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University, reflects on the…
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Addressing Antisemitism on Campus: Lessons from History, Challenges for Today
In a time when hate speech and misinformation spread easily, it’s more important than ever to have honest conversations about antisemitism, history, and the role of higher education. In this powerful discussion, John A. Perez, Regent Emeritus of the University of California, sits down with Robert Williams, Ph.D., CEO of the USC Shoah Foundation, to…
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The Kindness of Strangers: Survival in Linz, London and Shanghai
The story of Greta Taussig and Rudy Gans, as shared by their son Bob Gans, is a poignant tale of survival, resilience, and the enduring human spirit. Presented as part of the UC San Diego Holocaust Living History Workshop, their experiences offer profound insights into the trials of persecution and exile during one of history’s…
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Profits and Persecution: Unveiling the Dark Nexus between German Big Business, the Nazi Economy, and the Holocaust
The haunting displays of shoes, suitcases, and eyeglasses in the Auschwitz Museum serve as a chilling reminder of the Nazis’ insatiable appetite for material gain. These tangible remnants of the Jews who perished in Auschwitz bear witness to the alliance forged between German corporations and the Nazi regime. In this enlightening talk, renowned author and…
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The Harrowing Journey of Jews Across the European Landscape
When we think of the Holocaust, images of the horrific suffering of millions of people come to mind. For British historian Tim Cole, the physical environment that the victims of the Holocaust encountered is a complex story of death and survival. Cole says that for many Westerners, images of the genocide come from the liberation…
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Daughter of the Holocaust
In the summer of 1942, 22-year-old Franci Rabinek began a three-year journey that would take her from Terezin, the Nazis’ “model ghetto,” to the Czech family camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau, to slave labor camps in Hamburg and finally to Bergen Belsen. Trained as a dress designer, Franci survived the war and would go on to establish…
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Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II
In the midst of World War II ethnomusicologist Moisei Beregovsky led a group of scholars who discovered songs written by Jewish Red Army soldiers, refugees, victims, and survivors of Ukrainian ghettos and camps. These were people whose voices are rarely heard in reconstructing history; none were professional writers, poets, or musicians, but nevertheless all were…
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Remembering the Holocaust
As a Jewish child during the Holocaust in Europe, Gabriella Karin escaped capture and death many times before the Nazis were overthrown in 1945. She survived by living in a convent for three years and then hiding with her family for nine months in an abandoned apartment building. Although physically safe, she did not emerge…
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Between Cultures
“Despite the current attempts to whitewash U.S. history, ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity is the predominant feature of the U.S. experience.” – Charles Musser Almost from their inception, motion pictures have dealt with the question of cultural assimilation. This was certainly true in America where many of the country’s film industry founders were themselves either…
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Double Jeopardy
Jewish History scholar Marion Kaplan was a co-editor of the landmark essay collection, “When Biology Became Destiny: Women in Weimar and Nazi Germany.” Published in 1984, this book established gender studies – heretofore neglected – as a vital component of Holocaust research, exploring the “double jeopardy” experienced in pre-war and wartime Nazi Germany by women…