Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies

Center News

• U.S. Court of Appeals rules in favor of the University of Minnesota in case involving the Turkish Coalition of America

  The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in favor of the University today in a closely watched case involving First Amendment and academic freedom claims. A Plaintiff in the case, Turkish Coalition of America, claimed that statements on a University department website that suggested that the Turkish Coalition's information about the Armenian genocide was "unreliable" violated its free speech rights and were defamatory. A University student also allegedly feared he would be subjected to academic reprisals if he used information from the organization's website in his own work.

  The federal district court had previously granted the University's motion to dismiss the claims, based principally upon its finding that the University's website contained statements of faculty scholarly opinion and critique that were protected by the doctrine of academic freedom.

  The Court of Appeals today affirmed the District Court's dismissal of the plaintiff's claims. It found the Turkish Coalition free speech claim failed because it could not show it had suffered any restrictions on its speech activities. The Court of Appeals also found that the Turkish Coalition's defamation claims failed because the University faculty's statements were either true or were statements of opinion, which cannot support a defamation claim. The Court of Appeals also found the student had no standing to bring any claims because he could not show he suffered any injury.

  The case has been watched closely by scholars around the United States and the world because of its implications for principles of academic freedom. GC Mark Rotenberg stated, "Today's federal court decision confirms the right of universities and their faculty to offer scholarly criticism and critique on websites without fear of legal exposure. This protection is especially important when the scholarly opinions expressed by the faculty are controversial. We are very pleased to have successfully defended this important academic interest."
  

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• Rosenfeld lecture now available on CHGS YouTube channel

  In his public address on Sunday evening April 15, "Is There an Anti-Jewish Bias in Today's University?" Professor Alvin Rosenfeld discussed how many campuses have become hospitable to certain political and ideological currents of thought that issue in actions and statements that can be seen as hostile to many Jewish students and professors.

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• New translation of the testimony of Georges Wellers

  From Drancy to Auschwitz by the French Biologist and historian Georges Wellers was first published in France in 1946.

  Wellers worked for many years at the Sorbonne, where he held the position of Director of Research Laboratory of Medical Department. In 1941 he was arrested by the Nazis and spent more than three years in concentration camps-first in Drancy near Paris, then in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Despite all the deprivations during his captivity, Georges lived a long and productive life. He excelled in a prominent scientific career, was awarded the Legion of Honor Rosette as its Officer, was Vice-President of the Association of Nazi-camp survivors of France, and was the only French witness at the Eichmann war crime trial in Israel.
  

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Community Events

• Barbara Frey, Director of Human Rights Program, to discuss torture through the lens of Judaism

  Sunday, May 20
  Beth-El Synagogue
  5224 West 26th Street
  St. Louis Park
  Services begin at 9:00 a.m.
  Breakfast and Presentation
  "Honoring the Image of God: Reviewing Torture Jewishly"

  Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Director of Rabbis for Human Rights North America will anchor a panel addressing the spiritual concerns with regard to torture. Barbara Frey, Director of the Human Rights Program in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Steven Miles, Professor and Maas Family Endowed Chair in Bioethics, University of Minnesota Medical School will join her on the panel.

  The discussion is part of Beth-El's annual Arthur and Irene Stillman Torah Scholar in Residence Weekend, Friday, May 18-20.

  For more information please contact Beth-El Synagogue at 952-920-3512.

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• Workshop: Trauma and Text: Approaches to Teaching the Literature of Atrocity

  July 23-July 27, 2012
  9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
  Room 614 Social Sciences
  University of Minnesota
  30 CEUs
  2 graduate credits available for additional fee (contact outreach@umn.edu if interested)
  Registration deadline: July 9, 2012
  

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• New publication: The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post- Holocaust Fiction by Elizabeth R. Baer

  On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, Dr. Elizabeth Baer, Professor of English and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, previewed her new book, The Golem Redux. Baer spoke about how contemporary Jewish-American writers have created golem stories as a re-imagining of text-centered Jewish traditions by appropriating, adapting, revising and riffing on older golem legends. Such appropriation, deploying the imagination to seek a better understanding of human nature, is crucial in light of the Holocaust experience under the Nazis. The presentation included golems from novels, comic books, graphic narratives, and "The X-Files."

  Dr. Baer's new book, The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction is now available from Wayne State University Press. You can watch the lecture on the Center's YouTube channel, CHGSumn.

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