Troy University will host a series of events examining the Holocaust this month at both its Troy and Montgomery campuses, including a roundtable discussion and a lecture by a Holocaust survivor.
The events will kick off with a free panel discussion on Monday in the auditorium of the Rosa Parks Museum on TROY’s Montgomery Campus. “(Un)Silencing the Past – Memorializing Historical Traumas: Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South” will enable students, scholars and the community to explore the lasting impact of targeted oppression and racial violence on memory and identity for communities in two historical contexts.
The event, which will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to the public, is presented by Troy University and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with support from Alan Solomon.
Speakers for the roundtable are: Evan Milligan of the Equal Justice Initiative, who will address “Lynching and Public Violence in America;” Jake Newsome of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, who will address “Memory and the Burden of Silence for the Nazis’ Gay Victims;” Kenneth Noe of Auburn University, who will address “Confederate Memorials and Historical Markers;” and, Dan J. Puckett of Troy University, who will address “Reporting on the Holocaust from Jim Crow Alabama.” Randall Williams of NewSouth Books will serve as the moderator.
The Troy Campus will also host the one-day teacher workshop, “Holocaust and Human Behavior,” from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 14 in the Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor. The workshop is presented by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and facilitated by Facing History and Ourselves. The event is made possible through the support of the Alabama Holocaust Commission, the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Huntsville and North Alabama, the Alabama Humanities Foundation, Troy University, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the University of West Alabama and the University of Alabama Birmingham’s Institute for Human Rights.
The workshops are open to teachers in grades six through 12. A $25 registration fee is required but will be refunded upon attendance. Registration deadline is Nov. 6. To register for the workshop or for additional information, visit the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center’s website at www.bhecinfo.org or contact the center at 205-795-4176 or by email at info@bhecinfo.org.

Then, on Nov. 15, Troy University and the Alabama Humanities Foundation will present a free, public lecture by Riva Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor. The event will begin at 10 a.m. in the Claudia Crosby Theater on the Troy Campus. There will be no admittance after the lecture begins.
In 1941, seven-year-old Riva and her family were forced into cattle cars and taken to a concentration camp in Moghilev. She will share her story during the lecture.
For additional information, contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at 334-670-3102.