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The Last Years of Lived Holocaust Memory

Presenter: Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz

Auschwitz survivors have shaped our understanding of the Holocaust with testimonies, memoires, and public presentations. The hybrid concentration, enslavement, and death camp endures as the most recognizable symbol of Nazi terror and atrocity. In 2005, the UN established January 27—the anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of Auschwitz—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. As we commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz yet again, we must acknowledge and confront the fact that we are witnessing the final years of lived Holocaust memory. Who will tell survivors' stories when they have passed? Will the next generation internalize the varied (and contested) lessons of the Holocaust as deeply as we did—we who have had the honor to meet, learn from, and relate to survivors with interpersonal empathy? What is the future of a memory as it passes into history?

Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz of Ramapo College will explore the educational and cultural challenges that we will face together in the coming years and review popular attempts to respond. His discussion will challenge some received wisdom with insights borne of more than two decades of study and teaching about the Holocaust in the United States and Europe. Rather than providing concrete answers, Dr. Labendz will share how he and his college students have sought to contribute meaningfully to tomorrow.

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