Author of Best-Selling Book, "Hitler’s Willing Executioners," Keynotes Holocaust Awareness Week at Colorado State University

Holocaust Awareness Week will be observed from April 3-7 at Colorado State University with theatre productions, lectures and a Holocaust survivors panel. The keynote speaker is best-selling author and Harvard Professor Daniel J. Goldhagen, who will talk about his controversial book, "Hitler’s Willing Executioners," on April 3.

Goldhagen will speak at 7 p.m. in the Main Ballroom of the Lory Student Center. A reception and book signing will follow. The presentation is made possible by the Sturm Lecture Series of Hillel Council of Colorado.

In his book, Goldhagen asks how the Holocaust could happen and provides new answers through his study of the ordinary Germans that carried out the Holocaust. In Germany, Goldhagen’s work has been met with standing ovations as well as cries of outrage. He was awarded Germany’s prestigious Democracy Prize for his work and his book has been published in 16 languages all over the world.

Throughout the week, "Stop Hate" buttons will be distributed in the Sunken Lounge of the Lory Student Center and flags representing different groups murdered in the Holocaust will be on display on the lawn of the Natural Resources Building on campus.

Holocaust Awareness Week events are free and open to the public. Events are funded by Hillel Council of Colorado, Associated Students of Colorado State University, Lory Student Center Governing Board, Distinguished Leaders Program, PAC, Vice President for Student Affairs and The Sturm Family Foundation.

For more information, contact Colorado State University Hillel at (970) 491-2080.

The week’s schedule of events follows.

April 3

  • 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Lory Student Center Plaza, "Bind Together Against Hate." In 1940, students at the University of Oslo wore paper clips to proclaim, "We bind together against Nazism." Paper clips were eventually banned by the Nazis. Wear a paper clip to bind together against hate.
  • 7 p.m., Main Ballroom, Lory Student Center, Harvard Professor Daniel J. Goldhagen will speak on his controversial best-selling book, "Hitler’s Willing Executioners." Reception and book signing follow.

April 4

  • 12:30-1:45 p.m., Room 230, Lory Student Center, "The Nuremberg Trial." Colorado State Professor Morris Burns will direct students from the Theatre Department in monologues from "The Nuremberg Trial." Vivien Spitz, who was a court reporter for the Nuremberg Trials, will introduce the event based on her own experience. After the scenes, she will help answer questions. Discussion to follow.
  • 3-4 p.m., Room 230, Lory Student Center, "Exploring the Holocaust Through Drama and Storytelling." Lisa Lipkin, a storyteller-in-residence with The Museum of the City of New York, will present a hands-on workshop that takes participants through a unique journey, using imaginative storytelling, dramatic role-playing and improvisation to deal with this difficult subject.
  • 7 p.m., Commons Area, lower level of the Lory Student Center, "What Mother Never Told Me." Lisa Lipkin will perform a one-woman play based on her experiences growing up as a child of Holocaust survivors. Lipkin will combine her personal memories with stories collected from children of survivors throughout the country. The show has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Israel and England.

April 5

  • Noon-1 p.m., Room 228, Lory Student Center, "A Conversation with Anne Frank." University Theatre will reenact several scenes from the play, "The Diary of Anne Frank." A question-answer session with the cast, who will remain in character, will follow. The event runs in conjunction with the Women at Noon series.
  • 2-4 p.m., Room 220, Lory Student Center, the movie, "Anne Frank Remembered."
  • 7 p.m., East Ballroom, Lory Student Center, Holocaust Survivor’s Panel. Two survivors from Colorado will share their personal stories of the Holocaust.

April 6

  • 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Room 230, Lory Student Center, "Prisoners with the Pink Triangles." Marlene Hines, director of the Colorado/Wyoming Project of the Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity, will be speaking on the treatment of gay men and lesbians by the Nazis, the realities of concentrations camps for homosexuals, the medical experiments performed on gay men and the reality of liberation for homosexuals. Cosponsored by SOGLB and GLBT Student Services.
  • 7 p.m., DC Bottoms, Durrell Center, "Life is Beautiful." This Academy Award-winning film tells the touching story of one man’s journey through joy, love, hatred and triumph during the Nazi occupation of Italy.

April 7

  • 1-2 p.m., Art Lounge, Lory Student Center, Memorial Service. Captivating service to remember the victims of the Holocaust with readings, songs, candles and prayers.

Throughout the Week

  • 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 3, 4, 5 and 6 and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. April 7, Sunken Lounge, Lory Student Center, Litany of the Martyrs. Reading of the names of some of those murdered in the Holocaust.