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About the Program

The Holocaust is the systematic persecution and murder of European Jews and other targeted minority groups during Germany’s Third Reich (1933-1945). 75 years after the Holocaust, continuing strong interest in it today testifies to the widespread sense that it has become everybody’s crucible, a metaphor of evil in the 20th century. It has been observed that, after the Holocaust, “one era came to a crashing close, and a whole new future began to unfold in which the basic question is not to what great height humankind might progress, but rather will humanity proceed to destroy itself in an Armageddon of its own making?” (Ryan, 1979). That question continues to be struggled with today by historians, educators, political and social scientists as well as artists. Other crucial questions include: How did the Holocaust happen?  What has the Holocaust taught us about ourselves? How can the horror be represented?

Faculty

Director: Joshua Kavaloski, Professor of German

Programs

• Holocaust Studies Minor

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