For 80 years scholars, theologians, writers, filmmakers, and artists have been pondering the “lessons learned” from the Holocaust. But since the end of World War II, we have seen, and continue to see, genocides, mass killings, violent revolutions, and human rights abuses.

Undemocratic, hyper-nationalist, and racist political parties are taking hold or make gains even in democratic nations. Their success is not achieved through revolution or military coups, but by capturing the very instruments of civil society – elections, government bureaucracies, courts, and media.

Given the state of the world, what can we say has been learned by a study of the Holocaust? Besides mourning our dead, is there still something to be gained by studying the Holocaust? This question is critical in a historical moment when so many of us are discouraged by world events and have lost heart. As citizens and educators, we must be able to clearly answer the question: why study the Holocaust? 

Join Dr. Michael Nutkiewicz in this webinar as we interrogate these essential questions about our history and work towards shaping a more just, equitable, and humane future.

Michael Nutkiewicz received his PhD in History from UCLA. His professional work was with refugees and victims of political violence. He served as senior historian at Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, executive director of the Program for Torture Victims (Los Angeles), and director of refugee resettlement for Catholic Charities of New Mexico. He taught Jewish studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of New Mexico.