Holocaust and Genocide Studies Commons^™

May Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, Insurgency” by Mahmood Mamdani. London Review of Books. March 8, 2007.

The Moral Vocabulary Of Violence, David L. G. Rice

Human Rights & Human Welfare

What is at stake in labeling a particular incidence of large-scale violence “genocide”? Mahmood Mamdani rightly argues that “genocide” is an insufficient description of the conflict in Darfur. I would suggest that the problematic nature of that terminology goes back to its inception after World War II. Activists have inherited the concept of “genocide” from a particular historical moment. Now, “ genocide” carries unique moral weight in the discourse of international politics. When violence against civilians has been widely accepted as a necessary outcome of the preservation of peace, activists find it necessary to imagine a worse evil than the …

The Return Of Moral Equivalence, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

During the latter stages of the Cold War, one school of ethical analysis, ultimately labeled as “moral equivalence” by the late Jeane Kirkpatrick, measured Western liberal democracies against utopian standards in a radical critique which redefined the political discourse, erasing distinctions between the Soviet Union and its satellites on the one hand and the United States and its allies on the other.

Missing The Point, Colin Thomas-Jensen

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“What would happen if we thought of Darfur as we do of Iraq, as a place with a history and politics—a messy politics of insurgency and counterinsurgency?” (§4). This is the most telling question posed by Professor Mahmood Mamdani in “The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, Insurgency.” The implication is that the growing public demand for strong international action—military or otherwise—to halt the atrocities in Darfur is somehow unwarranted because people have failed to understand that the systematic crimes against humanity committed against civilians in Darfur (and indeed Iraq) are an inevitability of “the messy politics of insurgency and …

Politics Of Naming And Politics Of Responsibility, Rhoda Howard-Hassmann

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Mahmood Mamdani is right to complain that the American—and international—public is unaware of the political complexity of the Darfur conflict. He is also right to point out that selective or inconsistent uses of the terms “genocide,” “civil war,” and “insurgency” can mask covert, or even overt, political agendas. His comparison of Darfur to Iraq is telling. And he is right to point out that even with the best of humanitarian intentions, the presentation of a simplified version of Darfur, in which “Arabs” persecute “Africans,” can play into the “war on terror,” insofar as, in the minds of at least some …

Remnants: Performance By Henry Greenspan [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the performance of the play Remnants by Henry Greenspan, based on his interviews with Holocaust survivors.

International Day Of Remembrance: Holocaust Commemoration [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster announcing the 2007 Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony.

The Nasty Girl [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the showing of the film The nasty girl which tells the story of a young woman who discovers that the local leaders of the German town she lived in have not told the truth of their activities during the Holocaust.

History On Trial: My Day In Court With David Irving [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster announcing a lecture by Deborah Lipstadt on being sued for libel by David Irving.

Spring 2007 Film Series [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the Spring 2007 film series of the Holocaust Remembrance and Education Program.

Holocaust Si Gulag – Variante Ale Conceptului De Genocid? Intre Dreptul International Si Teoriile Contemporane Privind Violenta Colectiva [Holocaust And Gulag – Varieties Of The Concept Of Genocide? Between International Law And Current Theories Of Collective Violence]., Stefan Cristian Ionescu

History Faculty Articles and Research

This article examines the concept of genocide from the point of view international legislation, its applicability to the mass violence phenomena known as Holocaust and Gulag, the difficulties of interpretation and the various solutions proposed by contemporary scholars. It seems that there is a need for a change in the definition of genocide in the international law, in the sense of updating this definition to the political and social developments in the world. The current concept of genocide, regulated by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide poses a series of impediments that makes …

Eliminating Fear Through Recreating Community In Rwanda: The Role Of The Gacaca Courts, Christine M. Venter

Journal Articles

This article describes the institution of the Gacaca Courts in Rwanda, which were set up to try people charged with participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The author examines the options available to the Rwandan government in seeding to prosecute people charged with crimes related to the genocide, and concludes that, while flawed, the gacaca courts were the best option available. The article explores how the courts were developed based on the participatory and restorative ideals of African indigenous legal systems, and how these courts provide an opportunity for some form of "truth telling" in post-genocide Rwanda.

Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the showing of the film Good evening, Mr. Wallenberg that tells the story of the Swedish Embassy attache who made possible the rescue of Jews from Nazi-occupied Budapest.

My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering The Kindertransports [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the showing of the film My knees were jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports that relocated children from Germany and Nazi-occupied parts of Europe to Great Britain.

Fall 2006 Events Schedule [Poster], University Of Northern Iowa. Holocaust Remembrance And Education Program.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education Documents

A poster advertising the Fall 2006 schedule of events of the Holocaust Remembrance and Education Program.

Adolf Eichmann: Understanding Evil In Form And Content, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Criminal Case 40/61, the Trial of Adolf Eichmann by Harry Mulisch. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005.

Content Analysis Of Undergraduate Courses And Course Content On The Armenian Genocide In United States Higher Education, Christina Berian Pelosky

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The purpose of this study was to determine how many courses exist, or how much course content exists in Division IA colleges/universities regarding the Armenian Genocide in undergraduate higher education throughout the United States. Armenians throughout the world commemorate the genocide of 191 5 on April 24 each year to remember the slaughter and displacement of the thousands of Armenians during the rule of the Ottoman Empire (Balakian, 2003; Hovannisian, 1986; Melson, 1992; Miller & Miller, 1993). The Ottoman Empire succeeded in killing an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and eliminated the possibility of their living as a group in the …

Magdalena A. Zolkos On Rethinking The Holocaust By Yehuda Bauer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. 335pp., Magdalena A. Zolkos

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Rethinking the Holocaust by Yehuda Bauer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. 335pp.

The Boom Of Testimony After Communism: The Voices Of The Holocaust Survivors In Romania: 1989-2005, Stefan Cristian Ionescu

History Faculty Articles and Research

"In this article I intend to deal with the relation between Jewish survivors and Holocaust remembrance in post-communist Romania. Therefore I will investigate the consequences of the Holocaust experience on Jewish survivors from the perspective of how, when and why they remember the catastrophe. My investigation will not particularly focus on the level of the trauma and sufferings they have to live with, but rather on how the political, social and cultural factors have managed to influence the public recollection of the war sufferings and the survivors’ attitude towards Holocaust remembrance. I am interested in discovering mainly the way these …

Is Anne Frank At Last Taken Seriously As A Writer?, Laureen Nussbaum

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 1998, the emergence of five unknown pages written by Anne Frank once again focused attention on her diary. Despite the fact that the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation had unravelled the history of Anne's diary in "The Critical Edition" (Dutch 1986, 2001; English 1989, 2003) and had printed all available texts in parallel, readers were confused. This was partly due to Mirjam Pressler’s so-called ‘Definitive Edition’ of 1995 in which the strands, that had been so carefully separated in the Critical Edition, were once again tangled. A brief review of the different versions of Anne Frank's journal may be …

To Be A Soldier: Native Americans From Minnesota And Wisconsin Participate In The Civil War, Kathy J. Wilson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Review Of Hitler And The Power Of Aesthetics, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

We Remember: Dayton Area Student Writing And Artwork About The Holocaust, Dayton Holocaust Resource Center

Dayton Holocaust Resource Center Publications

The study of the Holocaust involves very personal involvement by a teacher and the interaction of his or her students. The culmination oft his study may be writings or art that release the deep feelings stirred by this study.

For the past fifteen years we have conducted the Holocaust Writing Contest and the Max May Memorial Holocaust Art Contest to encourage this expression by students. Through the contests, we have seen some remarkable student work. Hundreds of Dayton-area public and parochial children in grades six through twelve have submitted their efforts. The level of sensitivity and creativity in these works …

Review Of The Healing Wound: Experiences And Reflections, Germany, 1938-2000, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Interrogations: The Nazi Elite In Allied Hands, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Algeria Hotel: France, Memory, And The Second World War, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Faces Of The Holocaust: A Curriculum Guide For Teachers, Challon Roberts, Thomas S. Martin

Dayton Holocaust Resource Center Publications

"Faces ofthe Holocaust" is a unique series of fifteen videotapes created expressly as a classroom resource and curriculum supplement. I began to record these one-of-a-kind stories in 1985 with Wright State University Television Center Initially, there were nine interviews over a three year period, which included painstaking editing. The second part of the series was filmed in 1995, the fiftieth year of liberation, with interviews of five more liberators and one more survivor. The series was directed by K. Roland Knight of Wright State University Television Center. Dr. Thomas Martin and Challon Roberts assisted me in the editing process.

Pictures …

Creative Writing, Storyboarding And Video Script Writing As Techniques To Stimulate The Development Of Imagination And Imagery To Aid In Reading Comprehension, Ellen Settlemyer Bartelli

All Graduate Projects

The relationship between imagination, pretend play, and reading comprehension was researched through the literature. A curriculum unit was designed featuring two exercises using imagination and imagery in conjunction with the book Night by Elie Wiesel. The first exercise asked students to write a 10 entry journal synthesizing information from a variety of sources into a first person narrative of a Jewish child. The second exercise calls for student groups to write, storyboard, and film a scene from Night on videotape.

The Universal Nature Of Hatred: Keith Stimely And The Culture Of Holocaust Denial, Linda Maizels

Dissertations and Theses

A partial accounting of the discord beneath the seeming conformity of opinion within the insular community of the proponents of Holocaust denial was documented and preserved by Keith Stimely, a Holocaust denier who donated his personal papers to the University of Oregon Special Collections Library in 1991. The thesis uses the Stimely Collection to emphasize the universal nature of the hatred and animosity inherent in the denial movement.

Chapter One surveys revisionist historiography concerning both world wars and the manner in which the deniers appropriated the trappings of revisionism in their attempt to rewrite the history of the Nazi genocide …

The Holocaust: A Text Set To Extend Beyond The World History Text, Stacie Lynn Deason

All Graduate Projects

This project examined the use of trade books, particularly historical fiction and nonfiction, in the social studies curriculum. Through the development of this project, a text set was designed to extend and enrich the students' knowledge of the holocaust beyond the world history textbook. The literature revealed strong support for the use of trade books as a vehicle to learn more than the names, dates and facts presented in the textbook. Trade books allow the students to learn about the human experience of historical events, specifically the Holocaust for the purpose of this project. Through historical fiction and nonfiction trade …