Ƶ U. Observes Genocide Prevention Month with “Days of Remembrance”
As part of Ƶ’s observance of Genocide Prevention Month, the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE) has planned “Days of Remembrance” to commemorate the Holocaust and genocides around the world. The events are open to the public and there is no fee to attend. For more information, please call the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at 724-830-1033 or click here.
Days of Remembrance April 28-May 2, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 7 p.m., Reeves Theatre, Ƶ University’s hilltop campus: film “The Last Survivor”
“The Last Survivor” is an award-winning documentary film, which follows the lives of survivors of four different genocides and mass atrocities as they struggle to make sense of tragedy by raising awareness and promoting social activism. This event is co-sponsored by the NCCHE and STAND, the anti-genocide coalition at Ƶ University.
Sunday, May 1, 2 p.m., Congregation Emanu-El Israel, 222 North Main Street, Greensburg, Pa.: Holocaust Remembrance Day Interfaith Service
Michael Cary, Ph.D., professor, political science and history, Ƶ University, will give a keynote address. This program is sponsored by the NCCHE, the Westmoreland Jewish Community Council of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, B’Nai B’rith Warren Roy Laufe, Unit #903, Congregation Emanu-El Israel, Congregation Beth Israel, Greensburg Ministerium, Greater Latrobe Ministerium Association, Greensburg-Jeannette NAACP and YWCA of Westmoreland County.
Monday, May 2, 7 p.m., Sullivan Hall lawn (near steps to Canevin Hall), Ƶ University’s hilltop campus: “Remembering Robert Mendler, Holocaust Survivor, Friend and Colleague”
A memorial plaque will be installed in the butterfly garden which was dedicated to Mendler in August.
The National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education was established on the campus of Ƶ University in 1987. Ƶ initiated this national Catholic movement toward Holocaust studies in response to the urging of Pope John Paul II to recognize the significance of the Shoah, the Holocaust, and to "promote the necessary historical and religious studies on this event which concerns the whole of humanity today." The NCCHE has as its primary purpose the broad dissemination of scholarship on the root causes of anti-Semitism, its relation to the Holocaust, and the implications from the Catholic perspective of both for today's world. Toward this end the Center is committed to equipping scholars, especially those at Catholic institutions, to enter into serious discussion on the causes of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust; shaping appropriate curricular responses at Catholic institutions and other educational sites; sustaining Ƶ's Catholic Institute for Holocaust Studies in Israel through a cooperative program with Yad Vashem, the Isaac Jacob Institute for Religious Law, and Hebrew University; encouraging scholarship and research through conferences, publications, workshops for educators, and similar activities; sponsoring local events on the Holocaust and related topics in the University and the community, and enhancing Catholic-Jewish relations.