What Memorial Monuments Teach Us About the Holocaust (and Ourselves)

Since the end of World War II, Holocaust memorial monuments have been made in scores of shapes, sizes, forms and with text in many languages, initially for Jewish audiences, and then in more recent decades for a wider public, intended to teach broader lessons or meet political objectives. Given the breadth of these memorials, what roles do and/or should they play in art, history, commemoration, and education? Using the expansive data from the International Holocaust Memorial Monument Database, to which he had been a lead contributor, Dr. Samuel Gruber, President of the International Survey of Jewish Monuments, reveals how these memorials both reflect and shape Jewish and other collective memories over the past 80 years.

The event is organized by the Harriet & Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) and is underwritten by the Yehoshua and Edna Aizenberg Holocaust Memorial Fund. It is co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University; the Reiff Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution at Christopher Newport University; the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center in White Plains; the Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at Western Washington University; the Holocaust, Genocide & Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan University; the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies at University of Miami; the George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies at University of Miami; the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention at Binghamton University; the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy at University of Nebraska at Omaha; the Cohen Institute for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Keene State College; and the Legacy Foundation at Mount Hebron Cemetery.

**To attend in person: In person programs take place at the KHC unless noted otherwise. Events are free and open to all, but registration ahead of time is required and visitors must show ID upon entering the campus at Queensborough Community College (QCC). On site parking is available and for directions to QCC’s campus, please visit https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/about/index.html#gettingHere. For elevator access, enter the QCC Administration building and follow signs for the Kupferberg Holocaust Center.

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