BELLINGHAM — Western Washington University will host a prestigious annual discussion of antisemitism amid a national spike in hate against Jews and a school year that has seen bigotry against several minority groups on campus.
Focus of the event is how the Nazi Party forced schools to teach its racist ideology, a topic that’s increasingly in the headlines as U.S. states such as Florida censor what students can learn about American history.
Speakers will draw a parallel to the U.S. boarding schools that took Indigenous children away from their families and forced them to assimilate into Western society.
“Teaching Exclusion in Nazi Germany and the United States: Antisemitism & Racist Ideology in the Classroom, 1920-1945” is the title of this year’s Meyerhoff Lecture, an annual program designed to teach about lesser-known aspects of the Holocaust, and how they relate to current events.
“We understand that the topic of this year’s lecture may be personally impactful for many in our community, especially during this month of remembrance and reflection for so many people. We warmly encourage all to join us for this very special and important opportunity,” said Sandra Alfers, director of WWU’s Ray Wolpow Institute for the study of the Holocaust, genocide and crimes against humanity.
WWU was chosen to host the free event at 5 p.m. Friday, April 7, in Fraser Hall 102 and via a live stream. Free parking will be available on a first-come basis in campus lot 9G.
Registration for the in-person and online event is at the WWU website.
Speakers will be Margaret D. Jacobs, a history professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Adam Knowles, a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Zurich.
Moderator will be Hollie Mackey, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and an associate professor at North Dakota State University.
As a historical connection, the Nazi regime copied the U.S. systems of Jim Crow and the removal and re-education of its indigenous people to help them manipulate German society and eventually murder millions of Jews, gays, Roma, people with intellectual and physical disabilities and political foes.
Next week’s event is co-sponsored by WWU’s Tribal Relations Office, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Ray Wolpow Institute.
