91社区

The 91社区 will host the fourth speaker for the annual Edward D. and Regina Rechnic Holocaust Speaker Series at 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 30 in Carter Hall, located in University Center West on the 91社区 campus and online via Zoom. The 2025 speaker is Dr. Wolf Gruner, the Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies at the University of Southern California (USC) and Founding Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research. The presentation is open to the public at no charge, and for Zoom is required. 听

An internationally acclaimed expert on the Holocaust and genocide, Gruner has authored more than 30 journal articles and book chapters while writing or editing over 20 books. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards and honors for his teaching, academic achievements and tireless work to understand and combat genocide. Most recently, he published the prizewinning book, Resisters: How Ordinary Jews Fought Persecution in Hitler's Germany.听

In his presentation, Gruner will discuss how resistance to tyranny occurs through ordinary peoples' acts of defiance. Delving into Jews' public writings, oral protests, defiance of anti-Jewish laws, physical self-defense and countering of Nazi narratives, he reveals the power of the powerless when facing oppression.听

This series is made possible by the 91社区 Foundation through the Edward D. and Regina Rechnic Speaker Series Endowment. The endowment was established by the late Irene C. Rechnic and honors her parents' struggle to survive the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during WWII, where 960,000 Jews were executed.听听听

For questions on the presentation, contact the 91社区 College of Liberal Arts at 812-464-1855.