The Louis D. Brandeis Center would like to bring attention to an interesting opportunity being offered by our colleagues at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This summer, the USHMM will be hosting an instructional seminar for faculty from all disciplines who teach Holocaust-related courses. Information regarding the course description, applications, and deadlines can be found below. USHMM CfA: 2018 Curt C. and Else Silberman Seminar for Faculty June 4-15, 2018 Applications due March 30, 2018 The first half of the twentieth century witnessed the rise of a new “science” of eugenics, which became an international movement that legitimized and ultimately unleashed extremely violent, and indeed genocidal, racism. Racism, including racial antisemitism, was a core element of Nazi ideology and a driving force behind the Holocaust. Racism also legitimized the continued subjugation and persecution of African Americans long after the end of slavery. Although different in many ways, the history of racism in Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South during the 1930s and early 1940s sheds light on universal phenomena as well as historically specific events and experiences. The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies announces the 2018 Curt C. and Else Silberman Seminar for Faculty on racism in Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South. This year’s Seminar will analyze the similarities, differences, and gray zones of racial theory and practice in Germany and the United States in the first half of the 20th century, paying special attention to how these practices sharply diverged as Nazi antisemitic policies turned into widespread, state sanctioned murder and genocide in the 1940s. Looking at canonical scholarship on antisemitism and racism in both locales, as well as more recent works on how Jews and African Americans understood the others’ persecution, participants will learn how to respectfully, rigorously, and accurately represent these victims in Holocaust-related courses across disciplines. Through lectures, readings, and primary source examination, participants will be introduced to ways of situating racial antisemitism in Nazi Germany and racism in the United States into larger historical contexts of the period. The 2018 Curt C. and Else Silberman Seminar for college and university faculty is designed to help faculty who are teaching, or preparing to teach, Holocaust or Holocaust-related courses in all academic disciplines. While the focus will be on the specific cases of targeted oppression and racial violence in Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South, the themes, approaches, and methods covered in the Seminar are also applicable for the broad range of educators who engage the perspectives of victims and survivors in other geographic regions and/or time periods. Seminar participants will be introduced to Holocaust-related sources in the Museum’s unique film, oral history, testimony, recorded sound, archival, and photography collections, and the International Tracing Service Digital Archive. They will also meet staff scholars with expertise in various Holocaust-related topics with whom they can discuss their work. In addition to lecture and discussion, the Seminar will devote time to specific pedagogical strategies used by the three Seminar leaders and participants to examine these victim groups in the classroom. The Seminar will be held at the United States Holocaust Museum from June 4-15, 2018. It will be led by Wolf Gruner, Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor of History at USC, Evelynn Hammonds, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science, Professor of African and African American Studies Chair, and Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, and Clarence Walker, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of African American History at UC Davis. Seminar applicants must be teaching at accredited, baccalaureate-awarding institutions in North America. Applications must include: (1) a curriculum vitae; (2) a statement of the candidate’s specific interest and needs in strengthening his/her background in Holocaust studies for the purpose of improving teaching; and (3) a supporting letter from a departmental chair or dean addressing the candidate’s qualifications and the institution’s commitment to Holocaust-related education. Syllabi of any Holocaust-related courses that the candidate has taught or is planning to teach should also be included. Syllabi will be distributed at the Seminar to facilitate discussion of successful teaching strategies. Admission will be decided without regard to the age, gender, race, creed, or national origin of the candidate. For non-local participants, the Mandel Center will defray the cost of (1) direct travel to and from the participant’s home institution and Washington, DC, and (2) lodging for the duration of the Seminar. Incidentals, meals, and book expenses must be defrayed by the candidates or their respective institutions. All participants must attend the entire Seminar. Applications must be postmarked or received in electronic form no later than Friday, March 30, 2018, and sent to: University Programs Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC 20024-2150 Fax: (202) 479-9726 Email: university_programs@ushmm.org For questions, contact Dr. Kierra Crago-Schneider at 202-314-1779 or kcrago-schneider@ushmm.org. The Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation endowed the Silberman Seminar for University Faculty in memory of Curt C. and Else Silberman. The Foundation supports programs in higher education that promote, protect, and strengthen Jewish values in democracy, human rights, ethical leadership, and cultural pluralism. https://www.ushmm.org/research/competitive-academic-programs/faculty-seminars/silberman-se…
Rabbi Menachem Margolin The Polish parliament, after the recent passing of a controversial law banning individuals from accusing Poland of Holocaust atrocities, is now expected to vote on a new “animal welfare” bill. The bill includes a ban on kosher slaughter, under which violators could face a prison sentence of up to four years. The bill has been sponsored by the current ruling party of Poland, Law and Justice (PiS). PiS is noted for its right-wing and nationalist politics. The Brandeis Center has previously drawn attention to the potential limitation of human rights in Poland. PiS was recently criticized, this past November, when party members lauded far-right protests calling for a “white Europe.” The Polish Foreign Ministry released a statement which referred to the march as a “great celebration of Poles, differing in their views, but united around the common values of freedom and loyalty to an independent homeland.” The new bill, which would include a ban on exporting kosher meat from Poland, is expected to affect Jewish communities throughout Europe, as well as exports to Israel. The bill would also ban slaughter when animals are in an “unnatural state” which, according to European Jewish Association chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, would make it “impossible” to slaughter animals in accordance with Kashrut dietary laws. The Polish parliament had previously banned kosher slaughter in 2013, but the law was struck down by the Polish constitutional court. Since 2013, however, the shift in the political atmosphere of Poland has rendered the possibility of the law passing, and failing to be struck down, far more likely. This ban on kosher slaughter would also affect the Polish Muslim community, as kosher slaughter and Halal slaughter operate on largely the same principles. This law, one which disproportionately targets religious minorities on the basis of “humane” practices, is further fueled by similar legislation in other European nations. Belgium is set to have a ban on kosher slaughter go into effect in 2019. The Belgian law is, however, currently being fought by several Jewish groups within Belgium and supported by the Lawfare Project. The same grounds used to fight against the Belgian law criminalizing kosher slaughter are now being employed in Poland – namely, that the restriction violates constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. The rise of nationalist rhetoric in Poland, along with the new legislation tied to it, is just one of many signs that the fight against this resurgent form of bigotry must continue.