The Origins of the Holocaust: Antisemitism, Colonialism and Anti-Communism
The lecture examines the relations between antisemitism, colonialism, and anti-Communism in the first half of the 20th century in Europe, and sheds light on the motivations of "ordinary Germans" as well as collaborators with the Nazis in Occupied Europe.
Holocaust memory in the 21st century: between a universal commitment and a new antisemitism
The lecture discusses the way Holocaust memory has become a global memory in recent decades, which constitutes an important part of Western identity, and the complexity of the reception of this memory in Eastern Europe.
The Banality of Evil: from the Holocaust to the Genocide in Rwanda and Back.
The lectures shows how the idea of "the banality of evil," which was presented by the German-Jewish political philosopher Hannah Arendt, helps us understand the dynamic of several prominent genocides in the 20th century, in particular the Holocaust, the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, and the genocide in Rwanda.
Dr. Shmuel Lederman
Genocide Studies; political theory
Israel
English, Hebrew
Dr. Shmuel Lederman specializes in genocide studies and political theory. He teaches at the International MA Program in Holocaust Studies and the University of Haifa, and at the Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic Studies at the Open University of Israel. Dr. Lederman serves as a research fellow at the Weiss-Livnat Center for Holocaust Research and Education at the University of Haifa, and is the academic manager of the research project Sites of Tension: Shifts in Holocaust Memory, Antisemitism and Political Contestation in Europe.