NOTE: All information from the folkhögskola will be sent in Swedish.
RESPONSE TO THE HOLOCAUST: JEWISH PERSPECTIVE (ONLINE)
The Holocaust is the greatest catastrophe to ever happen to the Jewish people. It was an unprecedented event that elicited a wide variety of responses and reactions during and after the event. The responses ranged from desperation to resistance, from mutual aid to assimilation, all in the hope of survival. The Holocaust also caused a crisis of faith among many Jews who could not settle the idea of a benevolent God and the possibility of such tragedy.
In this course, we will look at the different Jewish responses to the Holocaust. We will look at the most common ways Eastern European Jews responded to the Holocaust: in ghettos, in camps, through flight to other countries, and in hiding. We will look at survival tactics, armed and unarmed resistance, and Jewish institutions and networks, religious and secular, that made possible the survival of some Jews. We will also discuss the role of Jewish leadership during the Holocaust and the ongoing controversy of collaboration by the so-called Elder Councils with the Nazis. Finally, we will also look at the commemoration efforts that took place after 1945: document collection efforts, the publication of memorial books, the erection of communal gravestones, and other efforts to preserve the memory of the victims and of the Jewish world that was prior to the Holocaust.
The course is given in English, in collaboration with Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Prior knowledge
To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Lior Becker, PhD, is a modern historian, teacher, and interdisciplinary scholar. His areas of expertise are Holocaust history, historiography and memory, 19th and 20th-century intellectual history, genocide studies, and Eastern-European Jewish history and culture. He has long experience teaching teens and adults in both Sweden and Israel.
Photo: Yad Vashem Archive. Oneg Shabbat in the Lodz Ghetto.
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