The CHGS "Alternative Narratives or Denial?" Reading Discussion Group notes from the book "From Empathy to Denial: Arab Responses to the Holocaust" by Ester Webman and Meir Litvak are now available on the Reading Discussion Group blog.
The final meeting of the 2011 CHGS Reading Discussion Group will be on Tuesday, March 22. The group will meet at 12pm in room 710 in the Social Sciences Building. We will be discussing chapters 9, 11 and 12 from Remembrance and Denial: The Case of the Armenian Genocide, edited by Richard G. Hovannisian.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Holocaust and Genocide News Articles
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A 21st-Century Statesman
Newsweek
2-20-2011
In the age of Twitter-shortened attention spans, fame is an increasingly powerful weapon of diplomacy. How George Clooney is helping to bring change--and a hefty dose of hope--to Sudan.
Read full article
As Greece seeks closer ties to Israel, anti-Semitism rears its ugly head
International Business Times
2-21-2011
While the Greek government seeks to establish closer diplomatic ties with Israel (in the wake of a cooling of relations between Israel and Turkey), incidents of anti-Semitism are rising in Greece, inflamed by the deepening economic crisis.
Read full article
Italy's first Holocaust museum to be built in Rome
By Lisa Palmieri-Billig
Jerusalem Post
02/22/2011
Country was partner, not victim, of Nazis, but hasn't done soul-searching like Germany, says director.
Read full article
Germany opens its first Reform synagogue since the Holocaust
By Reuters
2-21-2011
Haaretz.com
The synagogue in northern city of Hameln was built on foundations of predecessor destroyed by the Nazis during Kristallnacht.
Read full article
A 21st-Century Statesman
Newsweek
2-20-2011
In the age of Twitter-shortened attention spans, fame is an increasingly powerful weapon of diplomacy. How George Clooney is helping to bring change--and a hefty dose of hope--to Sudan.
Read full article
As Greece seeks closer ties to Israel, anti-Semitism rears its ugly head
International Business Times
2-21-2011
While the Greek government seeks to establish closer diplomatic ties with Israel (in the wake of a cooling of relations between Israel and Turkey), incidents of anti-Semitism are rising in Greece, inflamed by the deepening economic crisis.
Read full article
Italy's first Holocaust museum to be built in Rome
By Lisa Palmieri-Billig
Jerusalem Post
02/22/2011
Country was partner, not victim, of Nazis, but hasn't done soul-searching like Germany, says director.
Read full article
Germany opens its first Reform synagogue since the Holocaust
By Reuters
2-21-2011
Haaretz.com
The synagogue in northern city of Hameln was built on foundations of predecessor destroyed by the Nazis during Kristallnacht.
Read full article
Monday, February 21, 2011
Armenian genocide gave rise to modern humanitarian movement, UC Davis historian argues
CHGS is hosting Keith David Watenpaugh on April 14 as part of our "Alternative Narratives or Denial?" lectures, more information to be released soon.
UC Davis News
2-17-2011
One of the 20th century's most infamous atrocities, the Armenian genocide, also should be remembered for fostering the modern humanitarian movement, a UC Davis historian argues in a paper recently published in the American Historical Review.
Establishing a defining characteristic of modern humanitarianism, people at the time "began to reject the idea that suffering was natural or normal and concluded that you could stop human suffering, that we had the intellectual tools, the social reforms, the science and medicine to do it," said Keith David Watenpaugh, an associate professor who teaches in the religious studies program. "It was just generating the international will to do so.
"This was the first time a major international body, in this case the League of Nations, intervened on behalf of a large population of refugees and genocide survivors, to try to help them. Many Americans were involved in this effort. And it was also a major failure."
Watenpaugh's paper, "The League of Nations' Rescue of Armenian Genocide Survivors and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism, 1920-1927," was published in the December edition of the American Historical Review, the official publication of the American Historical Association.
Between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, much of which later became Turkey, died as a consequence of the genocide. Many were killed during forced marches into the desert or starved to death without food or water.
A specialist in modern Islam and human rights, Watenpaugh researched League of Nations intake surveys that recorded the histories of some 2,000 Armenian girls, boys and young women who, he wrote, "were rescued -- or, more often, rescued themselves -- from Arab, Kurdish and Turkish households into which they had been taken."
At the outset of the genocide, men and older boys were rounded up and executed. Many of the survivors were women and children, who often were sold or given away by their captors to become "agricultural workers or domestic servants, servile concubines, unconsenting wives, and involuntary mothers," Watenpaugh writes.
The League of Nations' belated rescue efforts recovered few of an estimated 90,000 survivors, Watenpaugh said. The mission was handicapped by efforts to portray the refugees as symbols of a much larger conflict.
"The Armenian women and children were non-Muslims being held by Muslims," he explained. "So it was portrayed as an example of a basic conflict between Islam and the West. This kind of politicization of refugee problems often does more harm than good."
Turks interpreted this portrayal as an attack on their national honor and religion and refused to help the League of Nations rescue survivors.
"The Armenians weren't victims of a religion, rather, their enslavement had less to do with religion than traditional social practices," Watenpaugh said.
Moreover, it is important to remember, he added, "that it was a modern phenomenon -- genocide -- that created the conditions under which these women and children could be victimized."
Watenpaugh said that he hopes his research will foster reconciliation by creating a better understanding of a shared past of trauma and violence in the region including Turkey, where the government still insists the genocide never happened.
Work like this can help "modern Turks come to terms with the fact that the genocide of the Armenians is part of their past as well," he said.
"No longer are the Armenians merely the hated 'other,' as they had been taught in school. Perhaps Grandma was an Armenian who had been taken. They may have absolutely loved and adored their grandmother and she's Armenian."
The article as it appears UC Davis News.
UC Davis News
2-17-2011
One of the 20th century's most infamous atrocities, the Armenian genocide, also should be remembered for fostering the modern humanitarian movement, a UC Davis historian argues in a paper recently published in the American Historical Review.
Establishing a defining characteristic of modern humanitarianism, people at the time "began to reject the idea that suffering was natural or normal and concluded that you could stop human suffering, that we had the intellectual tools, the social reforms, the science and medicine to do it," said Keith David Watenpaugh, an associate professor who teaches in the religious studies program. "It was just generating the international will to do so.
"This was the first time a major international body, in this case the League of Nations, intervened on behalf of a large population of refugees and genocide survivors, to try to help them. Many Americans were involved in this effort. And it was also a major failure."
Watenpaugh's paper, "The League of Nations' Rescue of Armenian Genocide Survivors and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism, 1920-1927," was published in the December edition of the American Historical Review, the official publication of the American Historical Association.
Between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, much of which later became Turkey, died as a consequence of the genocide. Many were killed during forced marches into the desert or starved to death without food or water.
A specialist in modern Islam and human rights, Watenpaugh researched League of Nations intake surveys that recorded the histories of some 2,000 Armenian girls, boys and young women who, he wrote, "were rescued -- or, more often, rescued themselves -- from Arab, Kurdish and Turkish households into which they had been taken."
At the outset of the genocide, men and older boys were rounded up and executed. Many of the survivors were women and children, who often were sold or given away by their captors to become "agricultural workers or domestic servants, servile concubines, unconsenting wives, and involuntary mothers," Watenpaugh writes.
The League of Nations' belated rescue efforts recovered few of an estimated 90,000 survivors, Watenpaugh said. The mission was handicapped by efforts to portray the refugees as symbols of a much larger conflict.
"The Armenian women and children were non-Muslims being held by Muslims," he explained. "So it was portrayed as an example of a basic conflict between Islam and the West. This kind of politicization of refugee problems often does more harm than good."
Turks interpreted this portrayal as an attack on their national honor and religion and refused to help the League of Nations rescue survivors.
"The Armenians weren't victims of a religion, rather, their enslavement had less to do with religion than traditional social practices," Watenpaugh said.
Moreover, it is important to remember, he added, "that it was a modern phenomenon -- genocide -- that created the conditions under which these women and children could be victimized."
Watenpaugh said that he hopes his research will foster reconciliation by creating a better understanding of a shared past of trauma and violence in the region including Turkey, where the government still insists the genocide never happened.
Work like this can help "modern Turks come to terms with the fact that the genocide of the Armenians is part of their past as well," he said.
"No longer are the Armenians merely the hated 'other,' as they had been taught in school. Perhaps Grandma was an Armenian who had been taken. They may have absolutely loved and adored their grandmother and she's Armenian."
The article as it appears UC Davis News.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Calling for Nominations for Inna Meiman Human Rights Award!
The Human Rights Program and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
are pleased to announce
The Inna Meiman Human Rights Award
Recognizing students at the University of Minnesota who have made significant personal contributions in the promotion and protection of human rights
This award will be given in recognition of the friendship between Inna Meiman, a Soviet era Jewish refusnik who was repeatedly denied a visa to seek medical treatment, and Lisa Paul, a graduate of the University of Minnesota who fought tirelessly on her behalf, including a 25-day hunger strike that galvanized a movement for Inna's freedom. The friendship between Lisa Paul and Inna Meiman is memorialized in the book, Swimming in the Daylight: An American Student, a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the Gift of Hope.The award is intended to recognize a University of Minnesota student who embodies a commitment to human rights. The Awardee will receive a $1000 scholarship.
Nominations will be accepted through Friday, March 4, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.
Inna Meiman Award Criteria
Eligibility
The awards are open to all full-time undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota.
Criteria
The student has demonstrated a personal commitment to the promotion and protection of international human rights through significant work on a human rights cause during their time as an undergraduate;
Through their efforts, the student has raised the visibility of a particular human rights issue among the University community or the broader public;
The student has made a positive difference in the life of others, and has given voice to those who might otherwise not be heard.
Nominations
Nominators should submit a letter of 500 words or less describing the human rights activities undertaken by the nominee during his or her time as a student at the University of Minnesota.
Students may be nominated by faculty, staff or other students at the University of Minnesota.
Self nominations must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from faculty, staff, and students who can attest to the achievements.
Address and Deadline
Letters should be submitted by email to the Human Rights Program, hrp@umn.edu, or delivered to the Human Rights Program, 214 Social Sciences Building, 267 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
The nomination deadline is Friday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m.
Judging
The judging committee will consist of the staffs of the Human Rights Program, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and author, Lisa Paul.
Ceremony
The Inna Meiman Award winner will be recognized at an event featuring Lisa Paul, on Friday, March 10, 2011 from noon till 2:00 p.m. in 609 Social Sciences Building. The Award winner will be notified ahead of time.
are pleased to announce
The Inna Meiman Human Rights Award
Recognizing students at the University of Minnesota who have made significant personal contributions in the promotion and protection of human rights
This award will be given in recognition of the friendship between Inna Meiman, a Soviet era Jewish refusnik who was repeatedly denied a visa to seek medical treatment, and Lisa Paul, a graduate of the University of Minnesota who fought tirelessly on her behalf, including a 25-day hunger strike that galvanized a movement for Inna's freedom. The friendship between Lisa Paul and Inna Meiman is memorialized in the book, Swimming in the Daylight: An American Student, a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the Gift of Hope.The award is intended to recognize a University of Minnesota student who embodies a commitment to human rights. The Awardee will receive a $1000 scholarship.Nominations will be accepted through Friday, March 4, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.
Inna Meiman Award Criteria
Eligibility
The awards are open to all full-time undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota.
Criteria
The student has demonstrated a personal commitment to the promotion and protection of international human rights through significant work on a human rights cause during their time as an undergraduate;
Through their efforts, the student has raised the visibility of a particular human rights issue among the University community or the broader public;
The student has made a positive difference in the life of others, and has given voice to those who might otherwise not be heard.
Nominations
Nominators should submit a letter of 500 words or less describing the human rights activities undertaken by the nominee during his or her time as a student at the University of Minnesota.
Students may be nominated by faculty, staff or other students at the University of Minnesota.
Self nominations must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from faculty, staff, and students who can attest to the achievements.
Address and Deadline
Letters should be submitted by email to the Human Rights Program, hrp@umn.edu, or delivered to the Human Rights Program, 214 Social Sciences Building, 267 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
The nomination deadline is Friday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m.
Judging
The judging committee will consist of the staffs of the Human Rights Program, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and author, Lisa Paul.
Ceremony
The Inna Meiman Award winner will be recognized at an event featuring Lisa Paul, on Friday, March 10, 2011 from noon till 2:00 p.m. in 609 Social Sciences Building. The Award winner will be notified ahead of time.
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Film Unfinished
Thursday, March 3, 20117:00pm
St. Anthony Main Theater 115 Main St SE
Minneapolis
Tickets:
$6.00 student/senior
$8.50 general admission
Post-show discussion moderated by Bruno Chaouat, Director CHGS
In 1942, the Nazi propaganda machine was hard at work. 70 years later, the deceit is finally unmasked.
At the end of WWII, 60 minutes of raw film, having sat undisturbed in an East German archive, was discovered. Shot by the Nazis in Warsaw in May 1942, and labeled simply "Ghetto," this footage quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record of the Warsaw Ghetto. However, the later discovery of a long-missing reel, inclusive of multiple takes and cameraman staging scenes, complicated earlier readings of the footage.
"A Fim Unfinished" is one of the most uncanny documentary movies about Nazi nihilism, said Bruno Chaouat, director for the center. "It confronts the viewer with the abyss of cynicism into which totalitarianism had immersed Europe. One of the most critical reflection on the visual archive, "A Film Unfinished" is as close as it gets to visual thought."
A Film Unfinished, presents the raw footage in its entirety, carefully noting fictionalized sequences (including a staged dinner party) falsely showing "the good life" enjoyed by Jewish urbanites, and probes deep into the making of a now-infamous Nazi propaganda film.
Sponsored by: The Film Society of Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
International Scholars, Historians and Others Petition in Support
In a gesture of solidarity with CHGS, noted scholars and luminaries, many associated with the Université Paris 7-Diderot, have been signing an online petition affirming the truth of the Armenian genocide. We thank our colleagues for their support. A final decision regarding the dismissal of the "Unreliable Websites" law suit is expected by early April
Monday, February 7, 2011
CHGS "Alternative Narratives or Denial?" Reading Discussion Group
In conjunction with the spring lecture "Alternative Narratives or Denial," taking place on campus April 13 and 14, CHGS will facilitate a reading discussion group focusing on seminal works on the topic of Holocaust and genocide denial.
On February 15th, 2011, we will discuss Empathy to Denial: Arab Responses to the Holocaust by Esther Webman and Meir Litvak.
Feel free to join us even if you were unable to attend the first meeting of the group.
Reservations required: Please email chgs@umn.edu or phone 612-624-0256.
For more on the discussion visit the CHGS Reading Discussion Group blog.
On February 15th, 2011, we will discuss Empathy to Denial: Arab Responses to the Holocaust by Esther Webman and Meir Litvak.
Feel free to join us even if you were unable to attend the first meeting of the group.
Reservations required: Please email chgs@umn.edu or phone 612-624-0256.
For more on the discussion visit the CHGS Reading Discussion Group blog.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Holocaust and Genocide News and Articles
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Muslim dignitaries pay their respects at Auschwitz
(AP) - 2-1-2011
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) -- In a bid to fight anti-Semitism and bridge cultural rifts, a large delegation of Muslim dignitaries visited Auschwitz on Tuesday to pay tribute to the millions of Jews and others who were systematically killed in the Holocaust.
Read full article
Austrian Jews press charges over 'anti-Semitic' Turkish film on Gaza flotilla
Haaretz,com
2-1-2011
By DPA
Politicians and Jewish groups in Austria and Germany criticized action film 'Valley of the Wolves - Palestine' ahead of its release on Holocaust Memorial Day.
Read full article
Khmer Rouge suspects seek release ahead of trial
By Suy Se (AFP) - 1-31-2011
PHNOM PENH -- Three top Khmer Rouge leaders made a rare joint appearance before Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court on Monday to seek release from custody while they await trial for genocide.
Read full article
Holocaust survivor shared message of tolerance with thousands:Minneapolis Star Tribune 1-30-2011
Ella Weiss, 'strong-willed' Auschwitz survivor: Minneapolis Star Tribune 1-30-2011
Preserving a symbol of evil: Boston Globe 1-30-2011
A Vanished World: Panorama by H.G. Adler: New York Times Review of Books 1-28-2011
Muslim dignitaries pay their respects at Auschwitz
(AP) - 2-1-2011
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) -- In a bid to fight anti-Semitism and bridge cultural rifts, a large delegation of Muslim dignitaries visited Auschwitz on Tuesday to pay tribute to the millions of Jews and others who were systematically killed in the Holocaust.
Read full article
Austrian Jews press charges over 'anti-Semitic' Turkish film on Gaza flotilla
Haaretz,com
2-1-2011
By DPA
Politicians and Jewish groups in Austria and Germany criticized action film 'Valley of the Wolves - Palestine' ahead of its release on Holocaust Memorial Day.
Read full article
Khmer Rouge suspects seek release ahead of trial
By Suy Se (AFP) - 1-31-2011
PHNOM PENH -- Three top Khmer Rouge leaders made a rare joint appearance before Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court on Monday to seek release from custody while they await trial for genocide.
Read full article
Holocaust survivor shared message of tolerance with thousands:Minneapolis Star Tribune 1-30-2011
Ella Weiss, 'strong-willed' Auschwitz survivor: Minneapolis Star Tribune 1-30-2011
Preserving a symbol of evil: Boston Globe 1-30-2011
A Vanished World: Panorama by H.G. Adler: New York Times Review of Books 1-28-2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)