JAN 021 - The Holocaust: Antisemitism Through the Ages and The Rescue of Jews

“I often tell my students that two hideous demons slumber under the floorboards of Western culture:  anti-Semitism and anti-Black racism.  And they can erupt through those floorboards at any time.”  Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Though six million Jewish men, women and children were “exterminated” in death camps and killing fields in the Holocaust, White Supremacist groups and websites that espouse Jew-hatred have proliferated in recent years and some deny that the Holocaust ever happened. The purpose of this course is to try to understand the religious roots of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism that later evolved into racial anti-Semitism and to read the stories of rescuers of Jews.  Questions to be considered include how and why Jesus was not perceived to be Jewish, how many Christians denigrated Jews through time, and how Jews, in the Middle Ages, were blamed for such things as the black plague and the killing of children. The Holocaust is a very terrible and dark event to study. There is, however, light that shines through that darkness by individuals and religious who exposed themselves and their families to certain death to save their Jewish brothers and sisters.  Why did they do so?  We will read heroic stories of Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and non-religious rescuers. Found in every country occupied by the Nazis during WW II, their courage far exceeded their numbers.  

Students will follow a particular interest of their choosing, related to Holocaust history, in a final paper.  

This course will be conducted as a HYBRID:  First week IN-PERSON, Two weeks REMOTE, last week IN-PERSON

Core Designation: The Common Good 

Instructor(s): Michael Hadani
Email:  mh21@stmarys-ca.edu
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisites:  None
Course Fee:  25.00
 

Credits: 1