Cutting-Edge Programs: Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Clark's Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies reached a 10-year milestone anniversary. A decade after it was founded, with murders in Darfur, sectarian violence in East Timor and Iraq, and a monitoring program of persons of the Bahai faith in Iran, the Center's work has never been so critically important.

"The need is great and the timing is urgent," says Debórah Dwork, Rose Professor of Holocaust History and founding director of the Strassler Center. "Our goal," she explains, "is to analyze the past in order to recognize genocidal ideologies before they take control, and to develop strategies for deterrence in the future."

Graduate students are the pulse of the Center. At present, 10 young scholars endow the Center community with passion and intellect, as they pursue new knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust and genocide. Providing new insights into the lives of those who were most affected by the Holocaust, Sarah Cushman's dissertation examines The Women of Birkenau; Rachel Iskov delves into Jewish Family Life in the Lodz Ghetto; Tiberiu Galis analyzes post-Holocaust and post-Communist initiatives to deliver justice; Ilana Offenberger ponders pivotal moments in victims' decision making.

Other graduate students travel the world--to South Africa, Namibia, Austria, Romania, Hungary, and Belarus--seeking answers to questions about the Holocaust and other genocides, all with the aim of preventing future atrocities. These graduate students bring back to the Clark community their scholarship, energy, and new perspectives, enriching the Center and the University. They serve as mentors and role models to the undergraduate students in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Concentration, encouraging these students, by example, to pursue their intellectual passions.

With the guidance of faculty and graduate students, undergraduate students in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Concentration transform knowledge into action. Sarah Milardo '08 and Georgianna Mora '08 wanted to do something about the genocide in Darfur. After the Strassler Center invited a cofounder of the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net) in spring 2006, Sarah and Georgianna promptly started a chapter of GI-Net's Students Taking Action Now Darfur (STAND).

Jody Manning '07 went to Poland to understand Holocaust history first-hand. After participating in Clark's Prague-Terezin program in spring 2005, he remained in Poland for the summer to work as the first U.S. intern at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim. In summer 2006, he returned to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum to conduct a multigenerational study of the townspeople in Auschwitz, assessing the effects of postwar memory on their lives. "The personal, emotional, and academic knowledge that I gained and experienced in that small town of Oswiecim has been among the most profound components of my Clark education," says Manning.

By offering Clark students unparalleled undergraduate and graduate programs, and informing the public debate through faculty research, a free lecture series, and public outreach initiatives, the Strassler Center's faculty and students stand at the vanguard of understanding the Holocaust and are well prepared to take action in the face of genocide around the world.

The Strassler Center needs your support to continue to train the next generation of Holocaust historians and genocide studies scholars, Holocaust museum directors and curators, experts in nongovernmental organizations and government agencies, and citizens dedicated to the eradication of genocide throughout the world.

Give to the Clark Fund now and help the University continue its tradition of creating innovative programs and learning opportunities. Designate your gift to the Strassler Center, if you wish to support that program. Your generosity is urgently needed and greatly appreciated.

Top