Lectures in Jewish History and Thought. No hard questions, please.
In July of 1942 (coinciding with Av 5702), the Nazis began a major deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp. By September, 235,000 Warsaw Jews were murdered in the gas chambers.
Read More Warsaw Ghetto Deportation (This Week in Jewish History)Viktor Frankl was a noted psychologist whose experience in the Holocaust formed the basis of logotherapy, his therapeutic approach to help people find meaning in suffering and in life.
Read More Who was Viktor Frankl? Jewish Biography as HistoryThe Nuremberg Laws of 1935 defined, for the purposes of the Nazi regime, exactly who was considered a Jew. This was an essential element in the unfolding of the Holocaust, as the Nuremberg Laws allowed the Nazis to first identify, then exclude, and finally attempt to eliminate Jews from German society. Part of the “This […]
Read More The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 (This Week in Jewish History) Dr. Henry AbramsonDiscovered in the rubble of the Warsaw Ghetto, the wartime writings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapiro (1889-1943) offer a unique and powerful perspective on the life and suffering of religious Jews during the horrific years of the Nazi occupation. By Dr. Henry Abramson According to my knowledge of the words of the Sages and the […]
Read More Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapiro, The Esh Kodesh (Jewish Biography as History)This is a brief academic presentation of the history of the Nazi attempt to destroy the Jews of Europe during World War II. Part of the Essential Lectures in Jewish History series by Dr. Henry Abramson. To view the Prezi used in this lecture, please click here.
Read More The Holocaust (Essential Lectures in Jewish History by Dr. Henry Abramson)In October of 1946, ten Nazi defendants were hung on gallows erected by the International Military Tribunal. One of the most notorious, the propagandist Julius Streicher, uttered the phrase “Purimfest 1946” moments before his death, unconsciously echoing a mysterious passage in the Biblical book of Esther itself. Fascinating footnote in Jewish History!
Read More “Purimfest 1946:” Julius Streicher and the Ten Sons of Haman (This Week in Jewish History)Beloved for his children’s stories, Henryk Goldszmidt wrote under the pen name Janusz Korczak. A lifelong advocate for children’s rights, he ran an orphanage in Warsaw that was world-famous for his innovative pedagogic techniques. Imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation, he continued to serve in this capacity until the terrible order […]
Read More Janusz Korczak: Hero to Children in the Warsaw Ghetto (This Week in Jewish History)An examination of the life and work of Emanuel Ringelblum (1900-1944), the heroic Polish scholar who organized the underground Oneg Shabbat society in the Warsaw Ghetto. Ringelblum recognized the extreme and unprecedented nature of the Nazi onslaught early in the war, and brought together a group of highly dedicated volunteers who recorded every aspect of […]
Read More Emanuel Ringelblum: Heroic Scholar of the Warsaw Ghetto