OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University will observe Holocaust Memorial Week May 2-5 with a series of events that will delve into the life of Heinrich Himmler, recount the experiences of two Holocaust refugees, and analyze the myths and stereotypes of the Jewish body.
The OSU observance, its 19th annual, also will include a look at another episode of genocide, the extermination and exile of several million Russian peasants known as kulaks.
"A number of events also will be held in public schools, including talks by survivors of Nazi concentration camps," said Paul Kopperman, a professor of history at OSU who chairs the Holocaust Memorial Committee.
The OSU events will begin May 2 with a free public talk by Lynne Viola, a professor of history from the University of Toronto. Her talk, "The Other Archipelago: Stalin's War Against the Peasantry," begins at 7:30 p.m. in Withycombe Auditorium. Viola is the author of numerous books and articles about 20th-century Russian history and politics.
In her lecture, she will discuss the treatment of Russian kulaks in the early 1930s, when millions of peasants were either killed, or uprooted from their homes and sent to Siberia or other desolate open spaces in Russia. Her talk is supported by OSU Convocations and Lectures.
A symposium on Tuesday, May 3, will explore the theme, "The Jewish Body and Anti-Semitic Stereotypes." It begins at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Powell Leadership Center in the Memorial Union. Speakers include:
The symposium is sponsored by the Thomas Hart and Mary Jones Horning Endowment in the Humanities.
On Wednesday, May 4, speakers will discuss two stories of escape from the Holocaust in a panel called "Jewish Refugees, East and West." It begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Construction and Engineering Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center.
Ursula Bacon will recount her experiences as a wartime resident of the Shanghai ghetto, which at its peak was occupied by as many as 25,000 Jews who had fled Europe. She also will be available following the talk to sign copies of her memoirs, "Shanghai Diary."
The other panelist is Sebastian Mendes, a faculty member at Western Washington University, who will discuss the experiences of his grandfather, Aristides de Sousa Mendes - a Portuguese diplomat serving in Vichy France. Defying the orders of his government, de Sousa Mendes issued 30,000 visas that enabled Jewish refugees to escape to Spain and Portugal.
Richard D. Breitman, a professor of history at American University and a leading scholar of Holocaust studies, will give a free public lecture on Thursday, May 5, that concludes the weeklong observation. His talk, "Himmler - Architect of the Holocaust," begins at 7:30 p.m. in Austin Auditorium of the LaSells Stewart Center.
In his talk, Breitman will discuss Himmler's leadership of the Schutzstaffel - better known as the S.S. - an organization he committed to the elimination of all persons he regarded as a danger to Germany. Himmler coordinated Hitler's "Final Solution," the attempted destruction of European Jewry.
Breitman is the author of several books, including "The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution" and "Official Secrets: What the Nazis Planned, What the British and Americans Knew." He is director of historical research for the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group, a federal governmental agency.
More information on Holocaust Memorial Week is available at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/holocaust.
Paul Kopperman, 541-737-1265
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