The Vocabulary of Holocaust Victimhood: Small Words, Big Questions

The Vocabulary of Holocaust Victimhood: Small Words, Big Questions
30th Anniversary Monna and Otto Weinmann Lecture

We live in a paradoxical moment for Holocaust memory. On the one hand, we encounter Holocaust analogies in the media and online nearly every day. And yet, public understanding of Holocaust history is at a low. One way to reengage with the experiences of torment and survival under the Nazis is to study language—the words and phrases that victims used to describe their own plight, in real time. Together, we will delve into the stories behind key terms that Yiddish speakers invented during the Holocaust. Bringing us deep inside daily life in ghettos and camps, these words also help us grapple with contemporary ethical questions.

Opening Remarks
Sara J. Bloomfield, Director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Dr. Janice Weinman Shorenstein

Speaker
Dr. Hannah Pollin-Galay, Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies and Director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Moderator
Dr. Lisa M. Leff, Director, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

During the lecture, we will share reflections on the field of Holocaust Studies submitted by past speakers, including Dr. Mehnaz Afridi (Manhattan University), Dr. Norman J. W. Goda (University of Florida), Dr. Henry Greenspan (University of Michigan), Dr. Sara Horowitz (York University), and others.

This program is free and open to the public, but registration is required. If you require assistance registering for this program, please contact eventshelp@ushmm.org.

The Monna and Otto Weinmann Annual Lecture honors Holocaust survivors and their fates, experiences, and accomplishments. Monna Steinbach Weinmann (1906–1991), born in Poland and raised in Austria, fled to England in autumn 1938. Otto Weinmann (1903–1993), born in Vienna and raised in Czechoslovakia, served in the Czechoslovak, French, and British armies; was wounded at Normandy; and received the Croix de Guerre for his valiant contributions during the war. Monna Steinbach and Otto Weinmann married in London in 1941 and immigrated to the United States in 1948.