Michigan State University’s Jewish Studies Program and the together will present a lecture by scholar and author Professor Alon Confino. Confino will discuss the topic, “A World Without Jews: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.” Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.
The April 13 lecture is part of an MSU-Holocaust Memorial Center series dealing with new directions in the study of the Holocaust. There will be a discussion period after the lecture, followed by a reception.
Confino is a professor of history at the University of Virginia. His cultural approach to the Holocaust goes beyond study of Nazi ideology and emphasizes culture. He explores German memory and fantasy, which underlie the persecution and extermination of the Jews, making genocide conceivable. In his lecture and in his book, A World Without Jews: Nazi Germany, Representations of the Past, and the Holocaust, he focuses on the fantasy world of Nazi Germany, which imagined a world without Jews.
He is the author of Foundational Pasts: An Essay in Holocaust Interpretation and Germany As A Culture of Remembrance: Promises and Limits of Writing History.
In recent years, Confino has been probing into different possibilities of historical narration. Currently, he also is exploring forced migrations in the 1940s in central and Eastern Europe, India/Pakistan and Palestine/Israel, looking at local history, memory and human rights.
For further information on the lecture, contact Rebecca Swindler at 248-553-2400, ext. 13, or rebecca.swindler@holocaustcenter.org.
It is the mission of the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus to remember those who perished and those who survived the Holocaust and, in a world increasingly faced with sectarian strife and intolerance, to set forth the lessons of Holocaust as a model for teaching ethical conduct and responsible decision-making. By highlighting those individuals who, in the midst of evil, stood for the best, rather than the worst of human nature, the Holocaust Memorial Center seeks to contribute to maintaining an open and free society.
The facility is wheelchair accessible and free parking is available at both the North and South entrances.
For more information on the Holocaust Memorial Center, visit holocaustcenter.org, or call 248-553-2400.
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