104. Constructing Virtual Tombstones: The Photo Archive of the USHMM

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter xi
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments xv
4. Preface: Blessing an Illustrious Student: The Scholarship of Michael Berenbaum xviii
5. Foreword: Giving Thanks for an Amazing Colleague: Michael Berenbaum as an Educator, Museum Builder, and Filmmaker xix
6. Introduction: Creating a Multi-Focused Festschrift: Michael Berenbaum as a Multi-Talented Bridge-Builder xxii
7. Part One: Expressing Deep Thanks: Personal Tributes from Old Friends
8. 1. Expanding Horizons of Jewish Thought and Modeling Integrity: The Lifelong Impact of a Campus Rabbi on a College Freshman 1
9. 2. Grasping and Expressing Foundational Insights: An Anchor and a Pillar in Holocaust Studies 3
10. 3. Creating Living Memorials after the Catastrophe: Michael Berenbaum’s Contribution to Holocaust Education 5
11. 4. Befriending Our Family, Loving Books, and Building Museums: A Capacious Mind and a Generous Soul 8
12. 5. Learning Most from One’s Students: The Highest Standard of Teaching Excellence 10
13. 6. Learning from a Patient Teacher: My Steady Friend Michael Berenbaum 12
14. 7. Teaching Teachers of the Shoah: The Recurring Impact of a Mentor and Friend 13
15. 8. Opening Doors of Opportunity for Other Filmmakers: A Better Understanding of Hollywood 18
16. Part Two: Searching for Meaning in Ancient Texts: Biblical, Talmudic, and Midrashic Narratives and Theology
17. 9. Wrestling with God and Contending with Fire: Jacob at the Jabbok and Moses at the Burning Bush 21
18. 10. Harvesting the Berry Tree: A Midrash for Michael Berenbaum (on Pirke Rabbi Eliezer 30–31) 26
19. 11. Marking Jewish Identity in a Famous Memoir: Page One of Elie Wiesel’s Night 30
20. 12. Seeing through the Prism of the Shoah: Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Characters of Elie Wiesel 35
21. 13. Honoring Father and Mother: An Impossible Possibility? 41
22. 14. Searching for Wisdom: Ethical Guidance in Proverbs, Psalms, Prophets, and Midrash 46
23. 15. Probing Deeply for Common Ground: Jewish Scholarship on Jesus the Jew 51
24. 16. Transforming a Symbol: The Scandal of the Cross 55
25. 17. Rereading “His Blood Be Upon Us”: The Blessing of the Blood of Life in Matthew’s Gospel 61
26. 18. Arranging Readings in the Lectionary: The Problem of “Troublesome Readings” in the Liturgy 66
27. Part Three: Rebuilding a Culture after a Catastrophe: Rabbinic Thought and Action
28. 19. Restoring Credibility and Revelation in a World Still Full of Atrocities: Religion, Ethics, and Culture after the Shoah 73
29. 20. Rethinking Theology after the Shoah: God as a Universal Force of Transformation and Healing 82
30. 21. Understanding Jewish Law: Fundamental Purposes, Modern Approaches to Its Observance, and Three Psalms in Its Praise 87
31. 22. Acting Justly and Pursuing Peace: The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism 94
32. 23. Agonizing and Preaching Boldly in the Pulpit: Rabbi Isaac Herzog in Dublin and Jerusalem 101
33. 24. Discerning a Role for God’s Law and Popular Governance: Rabbi Hayyim David Halevi on the State of Israel and Democracy 108
34. 25. Searching Our Souls and Confessing Our Sins: Small and Large Confessions for Yom Kippur 112
35. Part Four: Promoting Growth in Understanding: Jewish Commitment to Education
36. 26. Building Edifices of Jewish Knowledge: Michael Berenbaum and the Third Encyclopaedia Judaica 133
37. 27. Introducing College Students to Jewish Customs and Beliefs: The Importance of Jewish Studies Programs 149
38. 28. Searching for Holocaust Insights: Museums as Living Memorials and Dual Narratives in Holocaust Education 155
39. 29. Trusting and Contending in Jewish Education: Curricular Integration and Interaction 161
40. 30. Sustaining Jewish Commitment to Education as a Central Value: Holocaust Education and Museum Building 169
41. 31. Celebrating Freedom in the Cradle of Liberty: The National Museum of American Jewish History 173
42. 32. Illuminating Inclusive Freedom and Equipping Modern Abolitionists: The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center 179
43. 33. Helping Teachers to Teach and Students to Learn: Facing History and Ourselves 192
44. Part Five: Reconnecting Abrahamic Collegiality and Building Beautiful Bridges: Interreligious Encounters
45. 34. Abandoning Ancient Enmity and Seeking Covenantal Partnership: The Relationship between Judaism and Christianity 197
46. 35. Learning through Dialogue: The Work of the ICCJ from Seelisberg to the Present 212
47. 36. Replacing the Teaching of Contempt for Jews: Jules Isaac and Historical Truths about Jesus and the Jewish People of His Time 220
48. 37. Repenting for Sins against Jews and Harvesting Fruits of Mutual Respect: International Dialogue between Jews and Catholics after Vatican II 231
49. 38. Repudiating the Teaching of Contempt for Jews and Ending a Catholic Mission to Convert Jews: Nostra Aetate and the Jubilee Statement on Conversion 240
50. 39. Sustaining a Quiet Revolution: Popes and Jews since the Shoah 249
51. 40. Confronting Racial Antisemitism and Rejecting Contempt for Jews: Reform of Catholic Preaching and Teaching about Jews 256
52. 41. Establishing an Enduring Friendship: Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum and Cardinal Johannes Willebrands 262
53. 42. Doing the Will of Our Father in Heaven: Orthodox Jewish Statements on Jewish-Christian Relations 269
54. 43. Rereading Dabru Emet and Its Successors: Jewish Statements on Christians and Christianity 275
55. 44. Gathering the Fruits of a Half-Century of Reflection on the Shoah: The Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches 282
56. 45. Attending to Complicity, Identity, and the Integrity of “And”: The Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches 290
57. 46. Repairing a Damaged Relationship: A Half-Century of Jewish-Lutheran Dialogue 294
58. 47. Rethinking the Current Goal of Jewish-Christian Relations: Reconsideration Rather Than Reconciliation 303
59. 48. Moving beyond “Holy Wars”: Interreligious Dialogue as a Tool for Forging Sustainable Peace 307
60. 49. Creating Spiritual Remedies for Our Social Pathologies: Reflections of a Religious Peacebuilder 312
61. 50. Rejecting Revenge and Preserving Our Humanity: My Journey from the Parents’ Circle to a Treatise on Peace 317
62. 51. Healing a Mother’s Broken Heart: Letters to My Son and the Family of His Assassin 324
63. 52. Expanding Dialogue among Jews, Christians, and Muslims: A Step Closer to Human Fraternity, World Peace, and Living Together 329
64. 53. Evaluating Jewish-Muslim Relations in the Middle Ages: Golden or Ghastly? 335
65. 54. Outing White Supremacy as a Threat to Jews and Muslims: Strategies for Confronting a Common Enemy 340
66. 55. Challenging Group Bias: Benefits of Contact and Dialogue among Jews, Christians, and Muslims 343
67. 56. Educating Muslims about the Shoah: Memory and Meaning in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 351
68. 57. Knowing a Person by Her Actions to Help Others: The Discovery of the Prophet in His People 357
69. 58. Striving for Justice and Protecting Human Life: The Universality of People-Centered Human Rights 360
70. Part Six: Remembering for Our Future: The Shoah
71. 59. Seeing within and beyond Shadows: A Memoir of a Personal Journey 381
72. 60. Seeing Darkness and Light through a Camera Lens: Judy Glickman Lauder’s Images of the Shoah 395
73. A. Historical and Scientific Research
74. 61. Studying the Holocaust: Why It Still Matters 400
75. 62. Committing Makeshift Murder: The Disorganized Holocaust 407
76. 63. Heeding Warnings from Holocaust History: The Perils of Fake News and Statelessness 413
77. 64. Resisting Forced Labor in Warthegau and Galicia: A Tale of Two Cemeteries 418
78. 65. Opposing and Protesting: Forgotten Individual Jewish Resistance in Nazi Germany 423
79. 66. Meeting Himmler: Norbert Masur’s Negotiation of the Release of Jewish Women from Ravensbrück 429
80. 67. Confronting Evil: Ilya Ehrenburg and the Holocaust 435
81. 68. Navigating Broad Seas and Difficult Straits: Michael Berenbaum’s Passage from Tikkun Olam to Grey Zones 442
82. 69. Honoring the Righteous Among the Nations: Yad Vashem’s Department of the Righteous 446
83. 70. Searching for Goodness and Supporting Courage: The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous 452
84. 71. Saving Jewish Lives with Schutzpasses and Protected Houses: Rescue of Jews in Budapest by Giorgio Perlasca and Carl Lutz 458
85. 72. Honoring Heroic Courage to Care: Lessons to Learn from Raoul Wallenberg 464
86. 73. Granting Visas for Life: Courageous and Righteous Diplomats 470
87. 74. Confronting a Mixed Record: The Italians and the Holocaust 477
88. 75. Heeding Dangers of Holocaust Distortion in Eastern Europe: The Case of Lithuania 483
89. 76. Collaborating with Germany in the Final Solution: The Shoah in Bulgarian-Occupied Greece 487
90. 77. Remembering an Orphan of Holocaust Studies: The Romaniote Jews of Ioannina 493
91. 78. Listening to Sounds from Silence: Healing the Trauma of Child Holocaust Survivors 497
92. 79. Hoping that “A Remnant Shall Return”: Survival of “Displaced Persons” 502
93. 80. Discovering Memories My Parents Never Spoke Of: Silence, Nachas, and Resilience in the Life of a Second-Generation Survivor 508
94. 81. Healing an On-Going Trauma: The Task of the Second Generation 514
95. 82. Opening a New Frontier in Holocaust Studies: New Approaches to Geoscience and Archaeology 520
96. 83. Finding the Mass Graves of Jews Killed by Bullets: The Work of Yahad—In Unum 528
97. B. Ethical, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections
98. 84. Clarifying Shoah Historiography: Jewish Religious and Theological Reflections 534
99. 85. Comparing Genocides: An Opportunity to Learn to Care about Humanity 541
100. 86. Defining Genocide and Preventing Future Genocides: Never Again for Any Ethnic Group 545
101. 87. Holding Important Issues in Tension: Uniqueness, Integration, and Historical Context 550
102. 88. Paying Attention to Antisemitism Today: Are Twenty-Nine Million Reasons Enough? 554
103. 89. Taking Alarm at American Nazis in a Virginia College Town: Racist and Antisemitic Ideology, Rhetoric, and Symbols at the Charlottesville Rally 557
104. 90. Coming to Terms with the Holocaust: Appearances and Truths in Germany 563
105. C. Diplomatic, Legal and Political Issues
106. 91. Abandoning Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany: Evian, Kristallnacht, and the SS St. Louis 569
107. 92. Recalling Nuremberg at Seventy-Five: The Greatest Criminal Trial in Modern History 577
108. 93. Remembering an Elided Ally: Soviet Contributions to the International Military Tribunal 584
109. 94. Looming Larger Than Life: Benjamin Ferencz and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials 590
110. 95. Learning from the Nuremberg Trials: Ongoing Lessons for Our World 599
111. 96. Seeking Compensation for Slave and Forced Labor in World War II: A History 602
112. 97. Blocking Claims for Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art: Judicial Abandonment of Federal Policy against Wartime Plunder, Federal and State Criminal Law against Receipt of Stolen Property 613
113. 98. Finding Hope for Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art?: The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 620
114. 99. Digitizing the Nazi Theft of European Jewish Culture: The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project 626
115. 100. Probing the Provenance of Nazi-Confiscated Art and Achieving Harmonious Resolution of Conflicts: The Washington Principles and the Terezín Declaration 631
116. D. Memorials and Museums Research Centers and Archives of Survivor Testimony
117. 101. Probing What the Holocaust Has to Do with America: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 642
118. 102. Connecting with the Conscience of Museum Visitors: The Ethical Orientation of the USHMM 650
119. 103. Telling the Story, Getting It Right: The Permanent Exhibition of the USHMM and the Claude Lanzmann Shoah Collection 657
120. 104. Constructing Virtual Tombstones: The Photo Archive of the USHMM 662
121. 105. Advancing Study and Teaching of the Holocaust: The Research Center of the USHMM 666
122. 106. Struggling to Preserve Memories: The Creation of the USHMM 672
123. 107. Making the First “Most Lethal” Nazi Death Camp Unforgettable: The Construction of the Belzec Memorial 676
124. 108. Building a Living Museum in the Balkans: The Memorial of the Jews of North Macedonia 680
125. 109. Reflecting on Loss, Memorial Art, and the Spaces in Between: The Berlin Denkmal and New York City’s 9/11 Memorial 689
126. 110. Giving Voice to Holocaust Survivors: Interviewers of the Shoah Foundation 699
127. 111. Preserving Survivor Testimony and Expanding Horizons of Holocaust Education: USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive® and Documentary Films 706
128. 112. Domesticating Holocaust Memory: “House” and “Home” in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the USC Shoah Foundation 714
129. 113. Thinking Oral Historically: Persons, Places, and Events in Holocaust Testimony 718
130. E. Creative Arts: Poetry and Painting
131. 114. Searching for Language Beyond Words: Holocaust Poetry 723
132. 115. Defying Violence against Children: Poetry and Painting in the Terezín Ghetto 730
133. 116. Embracing Refugees of the Passover, the Shoah, and Our Own Times: Marc Chagall’s Exodus and the Crucified Jesus 743
134. 117. Listening with Love: My Father’s Visual and Narrative Memory 746
135. 118. Demanding Action—Not Pity: The Holocaust Art of Arthur Szyk 752
136. F. Music
137. 119. Rescuing Music Composed in Concentration Camps: The Institute of Concentrationary Musical Literature (ICML) 761
138. 120. Preserving and Performing Jewish Music: The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony 769
139. G. Cinema and Theater
140. 121. Making Holocaust Films: Michael Berenbaum’s Cinematic Career 775
141. 122. Documenting a Complicated Story: Empty Boxcars and the Shoah in Bulgaria and Its Occupied Territories 781
142. 123. From Cursing Jews for the Death of Jesus to Blessing Our Brothers and Sisters: The Revised Oberammergau Passion Play 789
143. 124. Searching for Ideas with Consequences: Illustrations of Holocaust Insights from Cinema and Theatre 796
144. 125. Honoring Persons with Courage to Care and Rejoicing in the Survival of Persons They Rescued: A Photo Essay on Rescuers and Survivors 801
145. Part Seven: Schmoozing with the Mishpacha: Letters from Michael’s Family and an Afterword
146. 126. Thanking Our Sabba 835
147. 127. Wondering How My Abba Does It 837
148. 128. Trading Insider Information on Best Dad Ever 838
149. 129. Honoring My Courageous Father 839
150. 130. Appreciating My Favorite (and Only) Father-in-Law 841
151. 131. Sharing Spiritual Lessons from My Father’s Life: Reflections on Parshat Re’eh on Abba’s 75th Birthday 842
152. 132. Celebrating Michael 846
153. 133. Rereading an Afterword: Things “The World Must (Still) Know” 848
154. Contributors 853
155. Copyright Notices and Permissions 867
156. Index of Biblical and Qur’anic Texts 870
157. Index 872